-DATE-
19910310
-YEAR-
1991
-DOCUMENT_TYPE-
-AUTHOR-
-HEADLINE-
Castro Opens Youth Computer Center 7 Mar
-PLACE-
CARIBBEAN / Cuba
-SOURCE-
Havana Cubavision Television
-REPORT_NBR-
FBIS-LAT-91-050
-REPORT_DATE-
19910314
-HEADER-
BRS Assigned Document Number:    000004067
Report Type:         Daily Report             AFS Number:     PA1403144191
Report Number:       FBIS-LAT-91-050          Report Date:    14 Mar 91
Report Series:       Daily Report             Start Page:     2
Report Division:     CARIBBEAN                End Page:       8
Report Subdivision:  Cuba                     AG File Flag:   
Classification:      UNCLASSIFIED             Language:       Spanish
Document Date:       10 Mar 91
Report Volume:       Thursday Vol VI No 050

Dissemination:  

City/Source of Document:   Havana Cubavision Television

Report Name:   Latin America

Headline:   Castro Opens Youth Computer Center 7 Mar

Author(s):   Cuban President Fidel Castro at the opening of the Youth Club
Computer and Electronics Center in Havana on 7 March--recorded]

Source Line:   PA1403144191 Havana Cubavision Television in Spanish 0308 GMT 10
Mar 91

Subslug:   [Speech, including dialogue with members of the audience, by Cuban
President Fidel Castro at the opening of the Youth Club Computer and
Electronics Center in Havana on 7 March--recorded]

-TEXT-
FULL TEXT OF ARTICLE:
1.  [Speech, including dialogue with members of the audience, by Cuban
President Fidel Castro at the opening of the Youth Club Computer and
Electronics Center in Havana on 7 March--recorded]

2.  [Text] [Castro] Can you hear me?

3.  [Crowd] Yes.

4.  [Castro] Where is my friend? The other one. Come over here. You go here and
you here. You are the one who has the information. You said we had 106 Youth
Computer Clubs.

5.  [Speaker] There are 106 Youth Computer Clubs at this time.

6.  [Castro] What do you mean by at this time?

7.  [Speaker] Some are under construction and others will be built.

8.  [Castro] Of course, you think they are very important.  What is your
impression? Have you learned a lot from these Youth Computer Clubs? Have you
found that they are useful?

9.  [Speaker] Quite a bit.

10.  [Castro] How would you be doing if you did not have the Youth Computer
Clubs?

11.  [Speaker] Well, I spend my life here.

12.  [Castro] You would be without life. Is that not true? You spend your life
here.

13.  [Speaker] I come over here right after school.

14.  [Castro] You come over here. How are the rest of your grades?

15.  [Speaker] They are good.

16.  [Castro] Very well. Do you have more information? You already talked about
Remate de Guane where there is a Youth Computer Club.

17.  [Speaker] Yes, there is a Youth Computer Club over there.  You said
somewhere in a speech--I do not remember where--that a Youth Computer Club
could be opened there.

18.  [Castro] Yes, of course. The idea is to have one per municipality.

19.  [Speaker] Yes, there is one in Pinar del Rio.

20.  [Castro] Are they all ready in Pinar del Rio, Robertico?

21.  [Roberto Robaina, president of the Union of Young Communists, UJC] Pinar
del Rio is the first province which is going to have all its clubs but they are
not finished yet.  They will be all completed soon.

22.  [Castro] Right. I believe that....

23.  [Speaker, interrupting] Do you know how many machines we have operating
here? We have 93 machines with [words indistinct] cards.

24.  [Castro] I am going to tell you. We have 82 standard machines.

25.  [Speaker] I am referring to the total number of machines.

26.  [Castro] There are eight KT. What are they called?

27.  [Speaker] AT.

28.  [Castro] AT. What about the others? Two?

29.  [Speaker] The other ones are XT.

30.  [Castro] XT.

31.  [Speaker] It is 0-based technology and AT is the advanced one.

32.  [Castro] You have 92 machines now, 92. How many machines does a standard
Youth Computer Club have?

33.  [Speaker] Well, eight or 10.

34.  [Castro] Another question. How many kids does a standard Youth Computer
Club provide services to? How many kids visit them each week?

35.  [Speaker] Everyone in the entire neighborhood who has the opportunity to
go goes.

36.  [Castro] A lot of young people?

37.  [Speaker] Well, before I attended this one I used to go to the one in
Playa. Since I cooperated with the workers.

38.  [Castro] Yes. A lot of kids who did not know about computers go there and
they have learned about computers and programming.

39.  [Speaker] There is one around here who started at the one in Playa when it
opened and now knows quite a bit about programming.

40.  [Castro] Of course. I think that what you have said saves me a lot of what
I have to say here about the importance of this movement. Is this called Youth
Computer Club?  Youth Computer Club Movement? Well, you explained how it began.
Was it approximately two years ago that we visited the place?

41.  [Speaker] No. You visited in April of 1989.

42.  [Castro] April 1989.

43.  [Speaker] It has not been two years yet.

44.  [Castro] In 1990? It has not been two years yet?

45.  [Speaker] Almost.

46.  [Castro] When was the first Youth Computer Club inaugurated?

47.  [Speaker] Three years ago. I believe it was in August. It was either on 10
October or in August.

48.  [Castro] Robertico, when was the first one inaugurated?

49.  [Robaina] On 29 April 1989.

50.  [Castro] Was that the first one?

51.  [Speaker] No, it was when you went there.

52.  [Castro] Well, I went there but you had already organized a Youth Computer
Club.

53.  [Robaina] The first one opened in November 1987.

54.  [Castro] You organized a Youth Computer Club but was this not started at
the Cuba Pavillion?

55.  [Robaina] In July and August of 1987.

56.  [Castro] In July and August of 1987. It has been four years.  This is when
I had the first news of the Youth Computer Club. I was interested in the Youth
Computer Clubs right away.

57.  [Robaina] You read it in the paper.

58.  [Castro] What?

59.  [Robaina] You read the results in the paper.

60.  [Castro] I read them in the paper and realized that the creation of the
Youth Computer Club was an extraordinary idea.

61.  We had been struggling with the introduction of computers in universities
and in mid-level education centers, that is, pre-universities and pedagogic
schools. We intended to get to secondary schools. I believe that we have
computers up to the secondary school level today.

62.  [Speaker] I believe there are already two machines in secondary schools.

63.  [Castro] Of course. A good number of rooms were built at the exact
sciences schools. When I saw that the UJC had created this institution and
generated a lot of interest among the children and young people, I realized
that it was a brilliant idea. I contacted the UJC and offered all the necessary
cooperation to extend that idea and take the Youth Computer Clubs to all the
provinces--this was the first idea--and to the main cities in the country. Do
you remember, Robertico, how many there where? The first ones.

64.  [Robaina] There were 35 at first.

65.  [Castro] Why were there so many?

66.  [Robaina] Because of the capitals, the municipalities of Havana City.

67.  [Castro] Yes, because if you put one in Bayamo you have to put another one
in Manzanillo because if not there is war. If one is placed in Moron you have
to put another one in Ciego.

68.  [Robaina] Matanzas and Cardenas.

69.  [Castro] Of course. We also put one at the municipalities of the capital,
the 15 municipalities of the capital.

70.  [Robaina] Those were the 35 of the initial plan.

71.  [Castro] This is how the story of the 35 got started. Many people had to
be won over. A plan was made. When was the Youth Computer Club plan done?

72.  [Robaina] After your meeting with us in October 1987.

73.  [Castro] In October 1987. A pretty project was planned.

74.  [Robaina] The projects with various scale models were made so that they
were not all the same. The construction phase began in February 1988.

75.  [Castro] The construction phase began. It was a matter of having the
buildings, of having the provinces and the municipalities help us in the
construction of the buildings or in adapting houses. This is how we started the
first 35.  Everything new always requires some persuasion. We also had to work
a bit, not in the financial aspect because we had the resources, but some
institution made commitments to produce the computers, provide us with the
computers in a short period of time. In reality we lost a little bit of time
because there were difficulties with the computers or some of their components,
some of the parts of the system of each of the Youth Computer Clubs. This was
the first problem, the first obstacle we enocuntered.  This is why it took us a
while to build the first 35.

76.  Later, we had the idea, we had the aspiration of having one per
municipality. It was no longer one per province or large city, but we wanted to
have a Youth Computer Club in each municipality in the country. This started
another new stage in which the UJC had to make efforts so that they could get
the installations built and so that houses were adapted and the problems got
solved. Not all the provinces had the same attitude. They did not find the same
understanding in all the provinces. Some realized more quickly than others the
importance of the institution and others picked up on it more slowly.

77.  Our dreams of continuing to expand the network continued. Let us say that
a Havana municipality could need two or three because there are 200,000
inhabitants. Some Havana municipalities have almost the same number of
inhabitants as a small province. After the goal of reaching one per
municipality was reached we wanted to complete the network with some 250 Youth
Computer Clubs. That was the idea.

78.  We already have 106, as he says. Are the ones in the province already
operating?

79.  [Speaker] Yes, yes.

80.  [Castro] They are adapting houses or building installations. Now we have
to find the equipment for the next 50.  We will have 156, more or less. We will
have clubs in the entire country. Is that not so?

81.  [Robaina] We will have clubs in the entire country.

82.  [Castro] This year?

83.  [Robaina] During the first half of the year.

84.  [Castro] In this first half of the year if we get the machines.

85.  [Robaina] Some municipalities such as Cienfuegos and Plaza need two or
three.

86.  [Castro] If we get the machines we would have Youth Computer Clubs in all
the municipalities.

87.  Look at the Artemisa girl who learned to operate a computer. We will
later.... [changes thought] For now, we plan to have 250 Youth Computer Clubs;
250 Youth Computer Clubs is quite a force. We will have them in all corners of
the country. They will provide an extraordinary service to the country.

88.  I have found people who graduated from the university 10 years ago,
outstanding professionals such as architects and engineers, who did not have
computers in the universities in their time. Anyone can understand that one
cannot live without computers today, one cannot advance without computers, and
no country can develop without computers.

89.  I remember seeing some expositions on equipment for projects. Some
projects which require 60 hours of work, calculations that require 60 hours of
work, can be done by machines in two hours and sometimes in one hour. This
means that the capabilities of a planner can be multiplied by 20, 25, 30, or
40. You can see what it means in terms of the speeding up of a project. Time is
often lost in a project because the planning requires a lot of time. I am
giving you an example. Those architects and engineers studied in the university
when there were no computers.

90.  Fortunately, there are computers at all levels of higher- and mid-level
education. No decision has been made yet on primary education because we still
do not have the certainty of whether it is convenient to take them to primary
schools. Views on this are developing. If analysis shows that it is convenient
to introduce computers in primary schools, we will introduce elements of
computers in primary schools.

91.  Robertico, the only thing that we need to do is to arrive at the
conclusion that we have to analyze this with the pedagogic centers and with the
Education Ministry. We will see if by gathering international information and
views we can reach the conclusion this year that we need to also take computers
to primary schools, if not to the first or second grade, at least to the
fourth, fifth, and sixth grade.

92.  For example, this girl showed us that she can handle the machine and that
she can do things with it within her limits. I do not believe this is going to
harm her. I am certain that it is helping her to develop knowledge. It helps
her to prepare for the future. I do not know if there will be a fear that they
will not learn how to add, divide, and multiply. Of course, this was one of the
first things that we were taught in our times: to add, substract, divide, and
multiply, or multiply and divide. We were later taught to figure out the square
root and all those strange things.

93.  I learned them. Instead of sending me to school they gave me one of those
notebooks with a red cover which had all the tables in the back. I learned them
all. I later had the privilege of having an inspector at a Jesuit school who
had the habit--he was the inspector for the boarder students....  [changes
thought] His punishment--I received different types of punishment because,
because [repeats] I do not know why. [laughter] There were no popular tribunals
then. All of a sudden--he was not the mathematician--he asked me to write 1,000
times--this was on a day that one felt like taking a vacation, when one felt
like resting, like on a Saturday morning, or when one has an hour to play
sports--I was asked to write 1,000 times: I should not talk in class,
[laughter] I should not talk while standing in line; I should not do this or
that. They ruined my penmanship because, imagine, if you have to write
something 1,000 times. The only thing I thought about was to use three pencils.
I wrote quickly: I should not talk in class and [talks gibberish]. I wasted a
lot of paper. The paper I wasted writing--I should not talk in class, while
standing on line, and who knows how many other things--was the paper we need
during the special period.

94.  That did not teach me anything. It was forced on me. I did the work of a
slave. This inspector--he was a brother and not a priest--had another method.
This one assigned me 50 or 100 math exercises. They were 50 division exercises. 
They were the ones that had nine figures in the dividend-- is this what it is
called? Is the one here called the dividend?  The one over here is the divisor.
What is the one left on the bottom called? What? The remainder. Why do you not
remember that? [laughter] That inspector had his tricks.  You could not cheat.
You could not just fill out numbers because he had a trick to see if one had
figured it out correctly.

95.  If you added the dividend it totalled nine. I do not know.  Say 27, if you
added seven and two it totalled nine; or 36, six and three is nine. The divisor
also totalled nine. The remainder totalled nine. I do not know if some
mathematicians present here or if a computer can explain why. All had to total
nine. He would discover right away if you wrote things that totaled nine. So,
you had no other choice than to figure it out and without computers. Do you see
how lucky you are? [laughter] Yes, without a calculator or anything of the
sort.

96.  He asked me to calculate 50 exercises. Naturally, I had to figure them out
quickly because if not there would be no time for games or anything. A week
would not go by without having to figure out 50 and up to 100 exercises. I
thank this inspector for this because I learned to calculate figures quickly. I
calculate figures very quickly without a calculator.

97.  At one time I was given one of those small calculators and I used it, but
I usually calculate figures without a calculator.

98.  [Speaker] All of them?

99.  [Castro] Well, almost all of them, but not all. No, you might give me a
figure that I may not be able to calculate now. I calculate all types of
figures, formulas, and calculations.  It is a habit. It is a mental habit. I
believe all that helped me a lot. This is why I have been able to survive
without computers.

100.  [Speaker] Sometimes punishment teaches.

101.  [Castro] What?

102.  [Speaker] Sometimes punishment teaches.

103.  [Castro] Yes, that punishment truly taught me. Do not believe that I was
very happy about calculating those figures, but in the end I believe that
taught me to calculate figures quickly and I manage without a calculator. I
understand very well, however, the importance of computers in everything, in
everything. Fortunately, I have an idea, I believe I have a very clear idea of
the enormous importance it has.

104.  I was telling you this, I was showing how it increases the productivity
of man's intellectual work. No modern country can live without computers. This
is a reality. No university-level professional can exist without knowing about
computers. There can be no mid-level technician who does not know about
computers. This is the reality. I realized this when they established the first
Youth Computer Club and saw that there was an enormous potential there. Above
all, the way it caught the interest of the young people, adolescents, and
children caught my attention.

105.  I said: We already have computers in the higher- and mid-levels. Of
course, we were talking a while ago about whether we should take computers to
the primary school level and that some may fear that they might not learn how
to add and divide and that all would want to figure things out with
calculators.

106.  If you ask me, I believe we should know how to calculate figures in our
head. We should not accommodate the mind to make any calculation with a machine
because we do not carry a machine in our pocket everywhere, all day. I believe
that all those rules I learned with the notebook make people develop their
minds aside from all the things I am told or other new methods. Everyone should
know how to multiply and divide. In my opinion, if people did not know how to
do this there would be a loss.

107.  I believe that computers can be perfectly combined with the teaching of
those mind exercise techniques so that one does not depend on the machine. We
need to reach this level as soon as possible so that we can begin to work at
these levels as a way of teaching, as part of an education program.

108.  I was telling you that we had already taken computers to the university
and mid-level education but there was a big gap: all those university-level
professionals who went to the university when computers were not taught. The
Youth Computers Club is a great way to get those professionals to learn about
computers. They will be able to fill the gap. It is a great way to get
adolescents and young people interested in computers. It is a great way for
children....  [changes thought] It is also a means of recreation. It is a
healthy way to pass time. It helps the child develop his knowledge and
abilities.

109.  I said: This Youth Computer Club idea is a brilliant one.  We need to
support it and find the resources from wherever possible.  We need to support
this UJC idea. I believe this idea is already a success today. I believe that
at the end of this year--in spite of the special period--we are going to have
our Youth Computer Clubs in all municipalities this year, in 1991. This is a
success. Now we need to strengthen it. We need to reach 250 or 300. The figure
will be dictated by the situation.

110.  I am happy with the idea that our people master computers. I have been
able to see the incredible interest adolescents and young people in the whole
world have in computers. It is incredible, fabulous. It is one of the great
achievements of modern science. We have to master computers if we want to be
the country we are going to be, if we want to master science, if we want to go
far on the path of the revolution and socialism. Youth Computer Clubs will play
a very important role in this, aside from the fact that we go to the lower
educational levels in line with what we said before.

111.  One day I visited the thing that was over there. What was it called? It
was next to the radio center, where we were going to build the palace.

112.  [Speaker] The Central Youth Center.

113.  [Castro] Was that the same day of the visit? It was there, in that little
house. The idea came about to build the Youth Computers Club Palace one day.
The idea came about. I said: Start working on it. That place appears to be
good.  Start working with the planners so that they plan a palace, I said. That
is the story. We thought about building the main computer palace one day.
Things began to get complicated. The special period came and we asked ourselves
where were we going to get the resources. We had to prioritize a number of
other things. I wondered when we would be able to build our central computer
palace.

114.  A very good situation came up. The special period itself gave us this.
Some of these establishments--where a lot of times workers cannot go and the
others go--caused conflicts and problems. One day we decided to close this
parallel market commercial center. He [the speaker] says he had never been
here. He never had the time to come here. So, the parallel market corresponded
to the situation we were experiencing with other types of distribution so that
goods would be guaranteed to each housewife, whatever was available. Even if
there was not a lot, at least what was available was guaranteed. There is some
candy and popcorn and all those things that used to be sold here and are now
going to be sold at the computer palace.

115.  We decided that this center was going to close. You know that a lot of
people stood in line. People stood in line and then sold things. You know all
those things. This little parallel market shop was closed. Then the idea of
what to do with the place came up. Some suggested to open an area market. One
of those supermarkets for 5,000, 6,000, or 7,000 residents. [Words indistinct]
left. Are you leaving?

116.  [Speaker] [Words indistinct].

117.  [Castro] Oh, fine. We considered this with the UJC. How did the idea come
up, Robertico?

118.  [Robaina] The day before leaving for China we proposed it.

119.  [Castro] Oh, the day before you left for China. You made the proposal to
use this for.... [changes thought] I liked it a lot. The only thing that had to
be discussed was that people from the Domestic Trade Ministry were thinking
about doing.... [changes thought] At that time they were working on a program
of 156 vegetable stands. They are now 161 [words indistinct]. We were planning
a distribution network and thought, what is this center going to do for a small
number of customers? Then the decision was made to use this--since we could not
build the other one--for the Central Computer Palace.

120.  We have not given up on our old idea. We have not given up on our
project.

121.  [Speaker] [Words indistinct].

122.  [Castro] Yes, yes, yes. Not on the place or all that. If this place is
good, that one is going to be even better. That is, when we can build it. We
will reserve the plans and everything. Listen, you do not know how wonderful it
is that this was turned into the Central Computer Palace.  This is good for all
the residents of Centro Habana who were tired of seeing disputes, quarrels, and
fights in the lines and some lumpen elements who hung around there.  This
cleans this area of our city. This Centro Habana Municipality is culturally,
scientifically, and recreationally enriched. This municipality is made more
decent with this center's presence.

123.  This is one of the projects which has pleased us the most.  Of course,
the 161 produce stands are almost completed.  The opening has coincided with
the time in which more agricultural supplies are arriving in the city, at the
time in which there are more tomatoes and bananas. More of everything is
arriving. These are the first results of the food program efforts in Havana
Province. Nobody is going to miss the little shop that used to exist in the
center's market.  Now, the four agricultural distribution centers are almost
completed and they are practically not enough. There have been goods. The
problem is to guarantee the goods' presence all the time--not all of them
because there are some that cannot be produced at some times of the year. 
Everything that can be produced in each season will be guaranteed. Therefore,
the center's inauguration has coincided with the time in which more
agricultural supplies are arriving in the capital.

124.  Of course, that is nothing. Speaking of the food program, a lot of
plantain plants are being planted now. They take a year before they begin to
produce plantains. That is going very well. The young people and the UJC cadres
know it because they have participated in the camps. This situation will
improve. The situation next year will be one of much more supplies than the
ones we have now. It is symbolic. I was thinking about it.

125.  Now that the Centro Habana market has been turned into a Youth Computer
Club.... [changes thought] We already discussed this, this is called the
Central Computer Palace.  It is a name we have given it [applause]--Central
Palace of Youth Computer Clubs. The Central Palace of Youth Computer Clubs. Of
course, we do not have the other one; we have to wait to have the other one. In
the meantime we have our dreams. This is not a palace. This is a palace. At
least, as far as what we have seen, the things we have seen, the spirit and
atmosphere we have seen, makes this center worthy of being called a palace.
Youth Computer Club Palace?

126.  [Robaina] Central Computer Palace.

127.  [Castro] Central Computer Palace. So I believe it is an important
advance. We are happy, we are pleased that you have all these resources. The
most important thing is the will to continue working. We now have to see how
all this operates and we will perfect it if it can be perfected. I am certain
that this is a success starting now. This is going to be supported. I have seen
wonderful things at the library and other places. I have seen fantastic rooms.
I have seen wonderful people in charge of providing services. The multiple-task
system is being implemented. There is a minimum number of staff members. This
large building, which at another time would have a roaster of 250 workers, is
operating with less than 70. This is also the application of very important
criteria in the need to rectify the habit of filling the installations with
workers and all that. Even in this area the palace is beginning its life well.
I was saying that the important thing was the will of continuing with the
movement. We have computer factories. I want you to know that the computers
here were made here. Almost all of those machines were built here. We continue
to study how much it costs us, how much a new one costs us, how much the
components cost us. We have to observe the quality of these machines. We are
interested in introducing homogeneity in computers because there are thousands
of machines in the country and 51 different brands. Everyone bought one over
here and over there when they had a few resources. We have a computer factory.
We are estimating which resources we can use this year to build a number of
them, for the Youth Computer Club program, among other things, and to begin
standarizing the machines we have in the country. That machine [corrects
himself] that factory has a very high capability.

128.  Not only computers are being built here but also robots and
high-technology medical equipment. Several research centers are working on
those pieces of equipment. We are going to be very strong in that area. We are
going to have all the necessary short-series plants. Sometimes we have to make
100 and not 10,000 Cardiosids. These types of installations will continue to
develop. In the end, I think we will continue to have our computer factory.

129.  The country has some 15,000 machines today. The day will come when we
will have 50,000, 100,000, and who knows how many. The entire tourism program
requires many machines so that there are appropriate controls for the efficient
management and for the prevention of giving facilities to those who like to get
hold of what they are not entitled to. The food program also needs a lot of
computers. The scientific programs we are developing require computers.

130.  Therefore, I truly consider this to be a happy day when we inaugurate our
Central Computer Palace. You will be able to count on us among this movement's
most enthusiast supporters. This is one more of the things that the UJC is
doing but is one of the most important ones. I would say that future
generations will always be grateful of this effort.  You know that future
generations will be better and better and they are showing it. They have shown
it in the struggle, in combat, in the great tasks of the development of the
revolution. They have shown it in the exemplary and impressive way in which
they are facing these difficult years, in the way they face the tests of today,
and their willingness to face the necessary tests. If something can be said
about our youths and our people it is that they do not fear anything or anyone.
They do not tremble before anything or anyone.

131.  Regardless of the crimes imperialists commit, or have committed recently
in other areas, everything is different here. Ideas and concepts are different
here. I am not going to expand on this subject. This is not the most
appropriate time, but I can say that if there are people in the world and youth
in the world who are prepared to face any test, they are these people and these
youth. [applause]

132.  This is why we want for them to prepare as much as they can, to go as far
as they can go, to fly as high as the stars.  This is what we want for our
youth. This gives us great confidence in the time to come. This gives us great
confidence in the future, in this youth which we know can really go very far.
What we are seeing and doing today makes us, the adolescents of a mature
age--what do you think about that?--[laughter] feel very happy.

133.  Someone asked me to write something about my impressions in opening this
Youth Computer Club.

134.  [Speaker] Computer Palace.

135.  [Castro] Is it not a Youth Computer Club? [laughter] One thing does not
rule out the other. This is the capital of Youth Computer Clubs. I do not thing
of the Youth Computer Clubs without this and this without the Youth Computer
Clubs. Yes. I am going to write my impressions very briefly since I see a pen
over there. Before that, I want to reaffirm once more our slogan. What? When we
have people like you who go from Playa to school, from the school to here, and
from here to Playa, and do not even have roller skates.... [changes thought] He
[the speaker] has shoes for now. Let us see. [laughter] We hope that he can
keep his shoes in good shape. He also takes care of his figure. You will not
gain weight as some people I have seen around there. Keep yourself like that,
which is the way to live over 100 years. Understand?

136.  [Speaker] I stretch out lengthwise and not sideways.

137.  [Castro] You are gaining weight; what happens is that you are growing a
lot.

138.  [Speaker] I have grown quite a bit since you saw me.

139.  [Castro] Yes, since I saw you two years ago I think you have grown at
least one foot.

140.  This is why before you and having confidence in you we can repeat our
slogan that says: Socialism or death, Fatherland or death! We will win! [crowd
joins in the slogan] [applause]
-END-