Castro brother, Ramon, dies
HAVANA: Ramon Castro, a lifelong rancher and farmer who bore a strong physical resemblance to younger brother Fidel Castro, has died, Cuban state media announced yesterday. He was 91.
Widely known by his nickname “Mongo”, the white-bearded Ramon Castro preferred tending crops and livestock to the revolutionary political life embraced by his younger siblings Fidel and Raul, who replaced Fidel as Cuba’s president in February 2008.
Two years older than Fidel, Ramon was long used to getting double-takes from people who insisted he looked just like his famous brother.
Ramon, Fidel and Raul were the second, third and fourth children of Angel Castro, a Spanish-born rancher, and his second wife, Lina Ruz. Angel Castro also had two other children from a previous marriage.
The three brothers attended Roman Catholic schools in eastern Cuba, where their teachers complained about their pranks and trouble making.
Once grown, Fidel and Raul headed off to Havana for studies, then the business of launching a revolution against dictator Fulgencio Batista, who seized power in a 1952 coup. But Ramon Castro was content to remain in the village of Biran in eastern Cuba, where he helped his father with the family business.
Little was known about his private life except that he was born on October 14, 1924, had been married and had at least two sons, Ramon Omar Castro and Angel Castro. – ANA-AP