August 30th, 2006 Fernando’s Early Life: An Inteview with Rolando Castro, Fernando’s first cousin.
3-20-06 10am interview Rolando Garcia at Corinthian Antiques in Miami.
Interview Notes
(Before the actual interview, Martin starts asking Rolando questions, so I quickly turned on the recorder so as to catch this information)
( Rolando refers to the last months of Fernando's life that although he was going blind, he continued to produce works of art.)
Rolando: Fernando was doing experiments with shadows, and basically he would put a black paper behind you and you would stand in front, he [Fernando]would basically draw what he saw and took an outline of you and then he would have it cut and I have a picture of me that I should maybe bring it out and have it mounted.
Martin Parker: Was he a marine or in the navy?
Rolando: He was in the army.
Martin Parker:What University did he go to?
Rolando: Fernando went to the University of Georgia at Athens where he got his undergraduate degree [Bachelor of Science] in physics and mathmatics [1968]. [He did graduate studies in Mathmatics at Georgia State University 1968-1969.]After he graduated he had a job with Western Electric , was drafted by the U.S army and Western Electric held his job for him until he got back out of the service. He was an engineer for Western Electric. When he got out of the military, he came back, worked this company but it didn't last for long as he wanted to go back to school. That was when he got his degree in fine arts. [Drawing and Painting at Georgia State University].
Martin Parker: I've lived here in Miami all of my life and I found it strange miami cuban to go to Georgia Universities.
Rolando: Wow! .Well yeah, because he wanted to get away.
Gary Mercer: You don't think he liked Miami very much?
Martin Parker: He [Fernando] was actually ambivalent.
Rolando: He was actually later in life and we do that, we kind of like reject what we are and everything and we kind of go back to our roots. That was basically his idea. he wanted to get away from Miami, the [cuban] asylum environment and all that and he was very independant and he just wanted a new experience. And he was very bright. He graduated with honors from Belen high school, a jesuit [preparatory] which was the best school for boys in Havana. (Note: Rolando refers to two schools in Havana that Fernando went to.)
Martin: He would be sixty one?
Rolando: I can't imagine Fernando at sixtyone. He was about your age when he was 42. [Refering to Gary Mercer's age at the time of the interview]
Martin: You are younger than he was?
Rolando: Yes. 2 1/2 .uh. it was three years.
Martin: i"ll be 55.
Rolando: Ok i'm fifty seven..
Martin: He [Fernando] was my senior by 7 years..
Rolando Ahh¦he just didn't look it ¦he [Fernando] looked like a kid.
Martin: You know¦the skin¦.
Gary Mercer: Ok. I would like to ask Rolando some questions and some of these are going to seem kind of basic.
Gary: You say Fernando went to one of finest schools in Havana as a child?
Rolando: He went to the Maristas brothers school, which was a very fine Catholic School in Havana¦as a matter of fact, he worked as a teacher for the Maristas brothers school in Atlanta. Which was good that he belonged to them..but when he arrived here in Miami,when he was going through that Pedro Pan thing and my uncle and aunt[Fernando's Parents] arrived from Cuba, they came to live with him¦then of course he went to Belen which was a private and hard for my uncle to pay for,but it was the only Catholic school from Havana that had already incorporated into Miami, so it was the only choice, but they also happened to be the best school in Cuba and the most expensive Catholic school for boys and that is what he joined when he came here. The curiculum of the school in Cuba was extemely full, like here [United States] we study five subject a year, whereas in cuba they studied in Caligraphy,Lithography,Naturally geography,Cuban history, English,math,science.
Gary Mercer: What was his age when he came over with the Pedro Pan children?
Rolando: In 1961 he had to be probably 15 years old.
Gary Mercer: When he came over, did he come by himself?
Rolando: By nature of the Pedro Pan children, came without parents. They were sponsored by the Catholic Archidiocise. The U.S. government gave visas to keep the children from being indoctrinated into communism.
Gary Mercer: Did they escape or where they let out freely? I'm not familiar with this bit of history.
Rolando: As a matter of fact. Castro was so busy doing so many other things in his agenda, the fact that he was going to militerize the age of boys into service which did not exist in Cuba prior to that. So as other parents felt afraid that once this compulsary military service happened that they would have not control over their children and thats the way it happened¦then a few years later¦it was implemented.[Compulsery Military service for youth] Rolando left two years into the Cuban revolution where many people were still very much with the revolution. Castro was busy doing agrarian and monetary reform and he knew that it was a sore subject [ Pedro Pan Children]. Cuban children are by nature very sheltered. So he knew he had to sort of get a grip on power before he decided to tell parents, you are going to lose your children from age 14 to 27 which is what happened. When that began to become a rumour, this sister of an ex president which was a very distinguished lady, along with some other men and had connections so she was able to prepare a project, sort of like a pilot project, to get children out of children in an effort¦nobody thought parents would take to a project the way they did but so afraid, they did. And so the project was known as Pedro Pan. It was very fast the way they prepared it and visas were distributed through the Catholic schools and student quietly notified about the program, in a very hush, hush way that they were going to be granting these visas and any parents that would like their children to study abroad and they could, but everyone knew what the underlying message was and parents got those visas and filled them out. [ to send their children to the U.S.]
Gary Mercer: At age fourteen you had to leave and go to another country by yourself, it had to be a huge factor in someone life.
Rolando: I know because I did it only because he came [Fernando] that my parents allowed me to come. A very young priest here by the name of Brian Walsh, irish and a very good man and he was told by the archdiasis would you mind to go and pick up a few Cuban children. Put them somewhere in the building of the Archdiacese.
Gary Mercer: At age fourteen you had to leave and go to another country by yourself, it had to be a huge factor in someone life.
Rolando: I know because I did it. only because he came [Fernando] that my parents allowed me to come. A very young priest here by the name of Brian Welsh, irish and a very good man and he was told by the archidieasis would you mind to go and pick up a few Cuban children. Put them somewhere in the building of the Archdiacese and then we world at an early age. I wonder where he would be today?
Rolando: He was on his way, he had great reports from Helen Kohen and several of the nice galleries in Miami.
Martin Parker: Remember HBO, is was supposed to do some work with them?
Rolando: Oh Yes! and he worked with Art in Public Places¦incredible interesting thing¦
Martin: I just remembered that HBO was supposed to call him back about designing some pages.
Rolando: Yes¦now that you mentioned¦University in Europe is and of course all the great writers where from there.
Interview Notes
(Before the actual interview, Martin starts asking Rolando questions, so I quickly turned on the recorder so as to catch this information)
( Rolando refers to the last months of Fernando's life that although he was going blind, he continued to produce works of art.)
Rolando: Fernando was doing experiments with shadows, and basically he would put a black paper behind you and you would stand in front, he [Fernando]would basically draw what he saw and took an outline of you and then he would have it cut and I have a picture of me that I should maybe bring it out and have it mounted.
Martin Parker: Was he a marine or in the navy?
Rolando: He was in the army.
Martin Parker:What University did he go to?
Rolando: Fernando went to the University of Georgia at Athens where he got his undergraduate degree [Bachelor of Science] in physics and mathmatics [1968]. [He did graduate studies in Mathmatics at Georgia State University 1968-1969.]After he graduated he had a job with Western Electric , was drafted by the U.S army and Western Electric held his job for him until he got back out of the service. He was an engineer for Western Electric. When he got out of the military, he came back, worked this company but it didn't last for long as he wanted to go back to school. That was when he got his degree in fine arts. [Drawing and Painting at Georgia State University].
Martin Parker: I've lived here in Miami all of my life and I found it strange miami cuban to go to Georgia Universities.
Rolando: Wow! .Well yeah, because he wanted to get away.
Gary Mercer: You don't think he liked Miami very much?
Martin Parker: He [Fernando] was actually ambivalent.
Rolando: He was actually later in life and we do that, we kind of like reject what we are and everything and we kind of go back to our roots. That was basically his idea. he wanted to get away from Miami, the [cuban] asylum environment and all that and he was very independant and he just wanted a new experience. And he was very bright. He graduated with honors from Belen high school, a jesuit [preparatory] which was the best school for boys in Havana. (Note: Rolando refers to two schools in Havana that Fernando went to.)
Martin: He would be sixty one?
Rolando: I can't imagine Fernando at sixtyone. He was about your age when he was 42. [Refering to Gary Mercer's age at the time of the interview]
Martin: You are younger than he was?
Rolando: Yes. 2 1/2 .uh. it was three years.
Martin: i"ll be 55.
Rolando: Ok i'm fifty seven..
Martin: He [Fernando] was my senior by 7 years..
Rolando Ahh¦he just didn't look it ¦he [Fernando] looked like a kid.
Martin: You know¦the skin¦.
Gary Mercer: Ok. I would like to ask Rolando some questions and some of these are going to seem kind of basic.
Gary: You say Fernando went to one of finest schools in Havana as a child?
Rolando: He went to the Maristas brothers school, which was a very fine Catholic School in Havana¦as a matter of fact, he worked as a teacher for the Maristas brothers school in Atlanta. Which was good that he belonged to them..but when he arrived here in Miami,when he was going through that Pedro Pan thing and my uncle and aunt[Fernando's Parents] arrived from Cuba, they came to live with him¦then of course he went to Belen which was a private and hard for my uncle to pay for,but it was the only Catholic school from Havana that had already incorporated into Miami, so it was the only choice, but they also happened to be the best school in Cuba and the most expensive Catholic school for boys and that is what he joined when he came here. The curiculum of the school in Cuba was extemely full, like here [United States] we study five subject a year, whereas in cuba they studied in Caligraphy,Lithography,Naturally geography,Cuban history, English,math,science.
Gary Mercer: What was his age when he came over with the Pedro Pan children?
Rolando: In 1961 he had to be probably 15 years old.
Gary Mercer: When he came over, did he come by himself?
Rolando: By nature of the Pedro Pan children, came without parents. They were sponsored by the Catholic Archidiocise. The U.S. government gave visas to keep the children from being indoctrinated into communism.
Gary Mercer: Did they escape or where they let out freely? I'm not familiar with this bit of history.
Rolando: As a matter of fact. Castro was so busy doing so many other things in his agenda, the fact that he was going to militerize the age of boys into service which did not exist in Cuba prior to that. So as other parents felt afraid that once this compulsary military service happened that they would have not control over their children and thats the way it happened¦then a few years later¦it was implemented.[Compulsery Military service for youth] Rolando left two years into the Cuban revolution where many people were still very much with the revolution. Castro was busy doing agrarian and monetary reform and he knew that it was a sore subject [ Pedro Pan Children]. Cuban children are by nature very sheltered. So he knew he had to sort of get a grip on power before he decided to tell parents, you are going to lose your children from age 14 to 27 which is what happened. When that began to become a rumour, this sister of an ex president which was a very distinguished lady, along with some other men and had connections so she was able to prepare a project, sort of like a pilot project, to get children out of children in an effort¦nobody thought parents would take to a project the way they did but so afraid, they did. And so the project was known as Pedro Pan. It was very fast the way they prepared it and visas were distributed through the Catholic schools and student quietly notified about the program, in a very hush, hush way that they were going to be granting these visas and any parents that would like their children to study abroad and they could, but everyone knew what the underlying message was and parents got those visas and filled them out. [ to send their children to the U.S.]
Gary Mercer: At age fourteen you had to leave and go to another country by yourself, it had to be a huge factor in someone life.
Rolando: I know because I did it only because he came [Fernando] that my parents allowed me to come. A very young priest here by the name of Brian Walsh, irish and a very good man and he was told by the archdiasis would you mind to go and pick up a few Cuban children. Put them somewhere in the building of the Archdiacese.
Gary Mercer: At age fourteen you had to leave and go to another country by yourself, it had to be a huge factor in someone life.
Rolando: I know because I did it. only because he came [Fernando] that my parents allowed me to come. A very young priest here by the name of Brian Welsh, irish and a very good man and he was told by the archidieasis would you mind to go and pick up a few Cuban children. Put them somewhere in the building of the Archdiacese and then we world at an early age. I wonder where he would be today?
Rolando: He was on his way, he had great reports from Helen Kohen and several of the nice galleries in Miami.
Martin Parker: Remember HBO, is was supposed to do some work with them?
Rolando: Oh Yes! and he worked with Art in Public Places¦incredible interesting thing¦
Martin: I just remembered that HBO was supposed to call him back about designing some pages.
Rolando: Yes¦now that you mentioned¦University in Europe is and of course all the great writers where from there.
Rolando talks about Fernando’s success in the military and his travels in Europe and meeting relatives in Spain.
Gary Mercer: Was he well received by his Spanish relatives?
Rolando: Absolutely, he even wrote back and forth with one of his cousins that he was fond of there and they got along very well. He then went to Greece and of course he was all over Germany and Switzerland, France,Belgium…there was nothing he didn’t see. He didn’t go to Turkey or anywhere behind the iron curtain [laughing].
Gary Mercer: After the service what did Fernando do?
Rolando: He went back to Western Electric as they had held his job for him during his wartime service, but then he became friends with gallery owner, David Heath of Heath Galleries, which was the modern gallery in Atlanta. David really saw Fernando’s potential. He had a wonderful gallery near the museum so it was like the place that any and every collector that left the museum would go to. Being that Fernando was in a social scale in Atlanta that allowed him to have great parties, he did very well in Atlanta. He got connected right away.
This guy [David Heath] encouraged him to pursue a fine arts degree.
Gary Mercer: To legitimize his work in the art world?
Rolando: Exactly, which he did, which was with honors.
Martin Parker: What type of paintings did he do?
Rolando: Remember he was just beginning. I wasn’t with him during at the beginning since I was in Miami, but I remember that I did travel once to Atlanta to prepare an installation at Heath Gallery with Fernando and I remember his art was all about calendars as art and basically it was a diary of what he had done. Different symbols were painted on the calendar depicting if it was a good day, bad day, he had sex etc. There was a code system to that.
[Rolando proceeds to pull out a suitcase full of Fernando memorabilia, calendars, invitations, pictures and we went through the entire suitcase and he gave me stuff to have copied and returned to him, including two of Fernando's earliest art pieces.]
Note: Rolando gave me the names of Sam Blum or Bloom, an attorney and a blonde cuban girl that Nan Clark would know called Maria, that have some of Fernando’s work that I could photograph for the book.
Gary Mercer: I would like for you to think back on your life with Fernando in the next few days, weeks etc to any particular event, funny happening or significant experience you had with Fernando that would be interesting to include in the book. Maybe something he said that was hilarious or something unique that he did? Then let me know for the book. Ok?
Rolando: Absolutely, its a lifetime of memories it would take sometime to think about it.
Gary Mercer: You know, your most memorable experience with Fernando.
Rolando: Fernando had a personal charisma when introduced to somebody, that I don't have.
Gary Mercer: I think you have alot more charisma than you give yourself credit.
Rolando: Its hard to believe that, but people just took to Fernando, one time they saw him and they were friends for a lifetime. He was very honest, outgoing person…as a matter of fact, he always had a smile..he always had nothing but a joke, he was always on the way to a party thats why til the very last momentI knew e was physically dieing,cause I wasn't stupid..but I didn't know to what point his blindness had blinded him. There was a side of him that was extremely personal that he guarded with his life. That part I know as little as anybody else. my brother [Rolando lived with Fernando's Parents when he came to the United States and Fernando treated him as a brother] and we were extremely close and had some of the best times of our lives in Key West. I stayed with him in Atlanta once an entire month when he was working there as an artist.. I went to visit him in Athen, Georgia when I was just in 9th grade. I stayed with him when he lived on Piedmont way, across the park in Atlanta. I went with my aunt and uncle visiting Fernando [Fernando's mom and dad]. In Havana we were extremely close..there were times when he was away that we weren't as close, but we kept in touch. We never had a fight. When I turned 15, I got the most beautiful letter from him, kind of like a passage of age thing like the girls go through in the Spanish Culture, but he still wrote me a letter, I think he was still in Atlanta and he put a little tie clip in it, but the letter was very heart felt and because I was in the United State without my parents, he was very supportive. Everytime I talked to him when he was in Atlanta, he was like, why don't you come over, you could finish high school up here and have FUN! Fernando's life was about fun. We had some good times in Key West. I took him to Key west once and I told him if you go there you are going to want to stay there. It was the place to go in the seventies.
Gary Mercer: Thats where Martin shot that nude picture of Fernando, it was at an clothing option resort. [ We have a very modest nude picture of Fernando in our possesion and he is gorgeous, happy and smiling in the picture sitting alongside the pool soaking up the sun]
Rolando: Fernando actually had an exhibit or some work there for that. who was that famous writer there? He had an arena or a theatre named after him? [ We couldn’t remember the name]
Gary Mercer: I noticed that Fernando sent lots of letters, notes and cards to people keeping in touch. Many of these are hand painted pieces of art!
Rolando: Exactly!! He would have flipped over email if it had been available because the nature of his to keep in touch.
He had his best friend from Georgia come and spend two weeks with him when he was sick. His name was Larry Lambert, his first partner, he is a realtor in Atlanta. They were roomates together and very very close through the years. I even stayed at his house even when Lambert wasn't home he let stay. You'll probably get a more accurate story from Nancy [Clark] um that he basically came to grab what he could. I knew him for a long time and don't want to think that way but..
Gary Mercer: Didn't Fernando give alot of his work away at the end of his life?
Rolando: Well he came to spend two weeks with him and alot of his friends that didn't know that part of Fernando's life [ Atlanta Years] were shocked at the greater intimacy that they had or whatever it was. There was also a Antonio LoSantos involved a portuguese, imigrant, Fernando's closest friend besides Nancy, he tried to follow in Fernando's footsteps in fact I have one of his little invitations to an exhibition. In the end, there was controversy over pieces of work that were being given away.
Gary Mercer: But isn't that the way it is oftentimes at the end of someone's life, everyone wants something of them to remember them. Look at Nancy for example. She has alot of his work but hasn't sold hardly anything and is out there still promoting his legacy!
Rolando: OH my God “she has promoted Fernando like no one else, was a true friend and an incredible, incredible girl. so I don't know what happened at the end something happened between Fernando, Nancy, LoSantos and Lambert. Of course Lo Santos is gone. Fernando and La Santos were both ill at the same time and Lo Santo passed away right after Fernando did.
Gary Mercer: Well, I'll try to contact Larry Lambert, see if he is still alive and interview him by phone and see what work of Fernando's he still is in possesion of so pictures can be taken for the book.
[Note: The book I want to write will deal with Fernando's life his fantastic artwork and his historical contribution to the art world, not his dying.]
Gary Mercer: Was he well received by his Spanish relatives?
Rolando: Absolutely, he even wrote back and forth with one of his cousins that he was fond of there and they got along very well. He then went to Greece and of course he was all over Germany and Switzerland, France,Belgium…there was nothing he didn’t see. He didn’t go to Turkey or anywhere behind the iron curtain [laughing].
Gary Mercer: After the service what did Fernando do?
Rolando: He went back to Western Electric as they had held his job for him during his wartime service, but then he became friends with gallery owner, David Heath of Heath Galleries, which was the modern gallery in Atlanta. David really saw Fernando’s potential. He had a wonderful gallery near the museum so it was like the place that any and every collector that left the museum would go to. Being that Fernando was in a social scale in Atlanta that allowed him to have great parties, he did very well in Atlanta. He got connected right away.
This guy [David Heath] encouraged him to pursue a fine arts degree.
Gary Mercer: To legitimize his work in the art world?
Rolando: Exactly, which he did, which was with honors.
Martin Parker: What type of paintings did he do?
Rolando: Remember he was just beginning. I wasn’t with him during at the beginning since I was in Miami, but I remember that I did travel once to Atlanta to prepare an installation at Heath Gallery with Fernando and I remember his art was all about calendars as art and basically it was a diary of what he had done. Different symbols were painted on the calendar depicting if it was a good day, bad day, he had sex etc. There was a code system to that.
[Rolando proceeds to pull out a suitcase full of Fernando memorabilia, calendars, invitations, pictures and we went through the entire suitcase and he gave me stuff to have copied and returned to him, including two of Fernando's earliest art pieces.]
Note: Rolando gave me the names of Sam Blum or Bloom, an attorney and a blonde cuban girl that Nan Clark would know called Maria, that have some of Fernando’s work that I could photograph for the book.
Gary Mercer: I would like for you to think back on your life with Fernando in the next few days, weeks etc to any particular event, funny happening or significant experience you had with Fernando that would be interesting to include in the book. Maybe something he said that was hilarious or something unique that he did? Then let me know for the book. Ok?
Rolando: Absolutely, its a lifetime of memories it would take sometime to think about it.
Gary Mercer: You know, your most memorable experience with Fernando.
Rolando: Fernando had a personal charisma when introduced to somebody, that I don't have.
Gary Mercer: I think you have alot more charisma than you give yourself credit.
Rolando: Its hard to believe that, but people just took to Fernando, one time they saw him and they were friends for a lifetime. He was very honest, outgoing person…as a matter of fact, he always had a smile..he always had nothing but a joke, he was always on the way to a party thats why til the very last momentI knew e was physically dieing,cause I wasn't stupid..but I didn't know to what point his blindness had blinded him. There was a side of him that was extremely personal that he guarded with his life. That part I know as little as anybody else. my brother [Rolando lived with Fernando's Parents when he came to the United States and Fernando treated him as a brother] and we were extremely close and had some of the best times of our lives in Key West. I stayed with him in Atlanta once an entire month when he was working there as an artist.. I went to visit him in Athen, Georgia when I was just in 9th grade. I stayed with him when he lived on Piedmont way, across the park in Atlanta. I went with my aunt and uncle visiting Fernando [Fernando's mom and dad]. In Havana we were extremely close..there were times when he was away that we weren't as close, but we kept in touch. We never had a fight. When I turned 15, I got the most beautiful letter from him, kind of like a passage of age thing like the girls go through in the Spanish Culture, but he still wrote me a letter, I think he was still in Atlanta and he put a little tie clip in it, but the letter was very heart felt and because I was in the United State without my parents, he was very supportive. Everytime I talked to him when he was in Atlanta, he was like, why don't you come over, you could finish high school up here and have FUN! Fernando's life was about fun. We had some good times in Key West. I took him to Key west once and I told him if you go there you are going to want to stay there. It was the place to go in the seventies.
Gary Mercer: Thats where Martin shot that nude picture of Fernando, it was at an clothing option resort. [ We have a very modest nude picture of Fernando in our possesion and he is gorgeous, happy and smiling in the picture sitting alongside the pool soaking up the sun]
Rolando: Fernando actually had an exhibit or some work there for that. who was that famous writer there? He had an arena or a theatre named after him? [ We couldn’t remember the name]
Gary Mercer: I noticed that Fernando sent lots of letters, notes and cards to people keeping in touch. Many of these are hand painted pieces of art!
Rolando: Exactly!! He would have flipped over email if it had been available because the nature of his to keep in touch.
He had his best friend from Georgia come and spend two weeks with him when he was sick. His name was Larry Lambert, his first partner, he is a realtor in Atlanta. They were roomates together and very very close through the years. I even stayed at his house even when Lambert wasn't home he let stay. You'll probably get a more accurate story from Nancy [Clark] um that he basically came to grab what he could. I knew him for a long time and don't want to think that way but..
Gary Mercer: Didn't Fernando give alot of his work away at the end of his life?
Rolando: Well he came to spend two weeks with him and alot of his friends that didn't know that part of Fernando's life [ Atlanta Years] were shocked at the greater intimacy that they had or whatever it was. There was also a Antonio LoSantos involved a portuguese, imigrant, Fernando's closest friend besides Nancy, he tried to follow in Fernando's footsteps in fact I have one of his little invitations to an exhibition. In the end, there was controversy over pieces of work that were being given away.
Gary Mercer: But isn't that the way it is oftentimes at the end of someone's life, everyone wants something of them to remember them. Look at Nancy for example. She has alot of his work but hasn't sold hardly anything and is out there still promoting his legacy!
Rolando: OH my God “she has promoted Fernando like no one else, was a true friend and an incredible, incredible girl. so I don't know what happened at the end something happened between Fernando, Nancy, LoSantos and Lambert. Of course Lo Santos is gone. Fernando and La Santos were both ill at the same time and Lo Santo passed away right after Fernando did.
Gary Mercer: Well, I'll try to contact Larry Lambert, see if he is still alive and interview him by phone and see what work of Fernando's he still is in possesion of so pictures can be taken for the book.
[Note: The book I want to write will deal with Fernando's life his fantastic artwork and his historical contribution to the art world, not his dying.]
