The Americans in MLB told him no..........that he wasn't good enough........racism really.........

Youth: 1926–47

Castro was born out of wedlock at his father's farm on August 13, 1926.^[1] His father, Ángel Castro y Argiz, was a migrant to Cuba from Galicia, Northwest Spain.^[2] He had become successful growing sugar cane at Las Manacas farm in Birán, Oriente Province,^[3] and after the collapse of his first marriage, he took his household servant, Lina Ruz González, as his mistress and later second wife; together they had seven children, among them Fidel.^[4] Aged 6, Castro was sent to live with his teacher inSantiago de Cuba,^[5] before being baptized into the Roman Catholic Church aged 8.^[6] Being baptized enabled Castro to attend the La Salle boarding school in Santiago, where he regularly misbehaved, and so was sent to the privately funded, Jesuit-run Dolores School in Santiago.^[7] In 1945 he transferred to the more prestigious Jesuit-run El Colegio de Belén in Havana.^[8] Although Castro took an interest in history, geography and debating at Belén, he did not excel academically, instead devoting much of his time to playing sport.^[9]

In 1945, Castro began studying law at the University of Havana.^[10] Admitting he was "politically illiterate", he became embroiled in student activism,^[11] and the violentgangsterismo culture within the university.^[12] Passionate about anti-imperialism and opposing U.S. intervention in the Caribbean,^[13] he unsuccessfully campaigned for the presidency of the Federation of University Students (Federación Estudiantil Universitaria - FEU) on a platform of "honesty, decency and justice".^[14] Castro became critical of the corruption and violence of President Ramón Grau's government, delivering a public speech on the subject in November 1946 that earned him a place on the front page of several newspapers.^[15]

In 1947, Castro joined the Party of the Cuban People (Partido Ortodoxo), founded by veteran politician Eduardo Chibás. A charismatic figure, Chibás advocated social justice, honest government, and political freedom, while his party exposed corruption and demanded reform. Though Chibás lost the election, Castro remained committed to working on his behalf.^[16] Student violence escalated after Grau employed gang leaders as police officers, and Castro soon received a death threat urging him to leave the university; refusing, he began carrying a gun and surrounding himself with armed friends.^[17] In later years anti-Castro dissidents accused him of committing gang-related assassinations at the time, but these remain unproven.^[