Fidel Castro's new `tropical business casual' look is a signal -- but of what?

Posted on Saturday, 09.12.09

Fidel Castro's new `tropical business casual' look is a signal -- but of what?
Fidel Castro, known for being deliberate with his image, might be signaling new health with his new look -- but his motive is the source of much speculation.

BY JUAN O. TAMAYO
jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com
What does it mean when Fidel Castro, known for carefully managing his image, appears in recent photos wearing not his usual track suits but shirts that one observer called ``tropical business casual.''

Perhaps nothing, Cuba analysts say. But perhaps, they add almost in the same breath, Castro is signaling that he's done rehabilitating from his health crisis and is ready to wield more influence over Cuba affairs.

Truth is, no one really knows, outside of a handful of very senior officials in Havana. But that has not stopped Cuba-watchers from speculating about Castro's possible return to a much move active and powerful role in the island's future.

``He is the most aggressive back-seat driver in the world . . . and could grab the wheel at any time'' from his brother Raúl Castro, said Dan Erikson, a Cuba expert at the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington.

Recent images of the 83-year-old Castro show him looking healthier than at any time in many years. Photographs show he has regained some weight, and he appears to speak cogently in a 24-minute video of a recent meeting with Venezuelan university graduates. He's also been unusually busy writing his columns, known as reflections, and meeting with foreign visitors, from heads of state to the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus.

Castro has made no public appearances since undergoing a still-unexplained emergency surgery in 2006 that forced him to hand over some of his powers to Raúl. But he has clearly retained much of his influence, and now his curious shift to dressy, short-sleeved shirts has raised questions about his future plans.

THROUGH THE YEARS

Emilio Ichikawa, a Miami essayist who left Cuba in 2000, said the new shirts would be meaningless if one believes that they reflect ``the total improvisation that marks Cuban society.'' But he doesn't think so. ``If the premise is that his images are millimetrically planned -- and I believe it -- then you have to do a thorough analysis.''

More:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/1229559.html

it's a good thing he ditched that Adidas Suit!

After a "mystery" illness Castro is back in the saddle. How do we know this? Short sleeves of course.



I think I see a multi million dollar taxpayer funded study on the close horizon.

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Fidel. In the old days when he was a menace to civilization.