In 1960, the tenth annual International Marlin Fishing Tournament earned a place in history by being a rare example of a national sporting competition being won by the head of the country, the prime minister, Fidel Castro.
The marlin competition had been founded in 1950 by Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway was a competitive soul, and as Michael Palin observed, was ‘never really happy with any activity unless some sort of contest was involved’. Marlin fishing was important to Hemingway, who had moved to Cuba from Key West in 1939. The contest was founded not long before Hemingway wrote his novel about an old Cuban fisherman grappling with a huge marlin he has caught – The Old Man and the Sea (1952). In the novel (there is a fine movie version starring Spencer Tracy and a big fish) the old fisherman, Santiago, straps the marlin to the side of the boat and heads back for home, fighting off sharks who strip the marlin to the bone. The marlin would sell for a lot in the market, but Santiago thinks no one is worthy of eating it anyway. The duel between the man and the marlin is what matters, not the fish’s market value.
In 1960, the tournament was named after Hemingway, a decision Hemingway was not entirely happy about. He called the renaming ‘A lousy posthumous tribute to a lousy living writer’. Even some great admirers of his work had suggested that the post-war Hemingway was in danger of becoming self-parodic – what Hemingway saw as correct male behaviour was increasingly seen as macho posturing – and Hemingway’s response to the renaming suggests he may not have been unaware of the danger of his talents simply fading.
Castro loved fishing too, and was delighted to be the (no doubt worthy) winner of the competition, and the fact that it was now named after Hemingway undoubtedly added flavour to the victory. He regarded Hemingway as an inspirational figure, and described Hemingway’s novel about the Spanish Civil war, For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940), as a key influence on the Cuban revolutionary struggle.
There are several photographs of the awards at the end of the tournament, and one particularly good one by the revolutionary photographer Osvaldo Sales, showing, as, Hemingway’s niece Hilary said, the ‘two most famous beards’ of the age together at last. The event concluded with Hemingway presenting Castro with the winner’s cup. It was the only time the great revolutionary met the great writer, and it is said they exchanged ‘pleasantries’. Hemingway, in truth, was not that sympathetic to the Cuban revolution, but refrained from criticising Castro in public. He regarded such behaviour as ungentlemanly, if not unmanly.
What Happened Next
Hemingway left Cuba in 1960, settled in Idaho, and shot himself in 1961. Castro went to become the world’s longest-running head of state, but seems to have won no more fishing competitions. Marlin are still fished for by tourists in Cuba, but are nowadays tagged and released instead of being killed.