Arizona Tribune - In Cuba, Castro's 'influencer' grandson causes a stir

It is a pastime some find entertaining, even fair commentary, but the 33-year-old is coming under increasing scrutiny from those loyal to Cuba's communist project for disrespecting his ancestor's legacy.

For others locked in a daily struggle for survival, the younger Castro's high-flying lifestyle and apparent lack of empathy is offensive on a whole different level.

On his Instagram account, Sandro regales his 127,000 followers with images of him partying, at times with scantily-clad women, often with a beer in hand.

He is sometimes dressed as a monk or a vampire, sporting cat whiskers or the jersey of the Barcelona football club.

From time to time, he mocks the struggles engendered by the country's worst economic crisis in three decades.

"I woke up today with my favorite recipe, chicken with beer... but there is no chicken,' he says in one post while holding up a bottle of the national lager, Cristal.

He also jokes about the power outages that have plagued the island, suggestively addressing a woman with the words: "If I caught you like the UNE (electric company), I'd get you every four hours, Monday to Monday."

The character entertains some, annoys others, but never fails to make a splash.

Castro's followers jokingly refer to him as the "next president," but voices aligned with the communist government are demanding he be silenced.

Loyalist historian and author Ernesto Limia complained on Facebook that Castro "does not respect the memory" of his famous grandfather, who led the revolution that toppled a dictatorship and installed a communist government.

"El Necio," an online influencer, has argued that Sandro Castro "goes against the security of this country" and "against the ideals" of the revolution.

Despite his famous name, some believe Castro may be pushing his luck.

Activists and critics in Cuba are often rounded up for sharing anti-government views, and several are serving sentences for crimes such as "contempt" or disseminating "enemy propaganda."

- 'Little toys' -

Manuel Cuesta Morua, a dissident historian who has been detained multiple times for his democratic activism, said the Sandro phenomenon embodied "the distance of the grandchildren's generation from the original revolutionary project."

It also put Castro in stark contrast to the rest of his family, who unlike him enjoy their privileged status "discreetly," he said.

While Fidel Castro was alive, Cubans knew very little about his second wife Dalia Soto del Valle and their five sons -- one of whom is Sandro's father, Alexis Castro Soto del Valle, 63.

The family lived out of the public eye in Punto Cero, an extensive wooded area west of Havana with access controlled by the military.

In 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Sandro came into the spotlight in a leaked video that showed him driving a luxurious Mercedes-Benz.

"We are simple people, but every now and then we have to take out these little toys we have at home," he said in the clip that went viral and sparked public outrage, forcing him to apologize.

Three years later, he caused another stir by celebrating his birthday at a bar he owns in the capital, burning massive neon lights and dancing on tables as the country reeled from the after-effects of a massive blackout.

D.Johnson--AT