Cuban leader Fidel Castro presented two volumes of his memoir entitled “Time Guerrilla” in a ceremony that marked his first public appearance since last April, Cuban media reported.
The memoirs trace his life from infancy until 1958, when he succeeded in leading a revolution that turned Cuba into a Communist country aligned with the Soviet Union.
Mr. Castro's recollection of events is reported through conversations with journalist Katiuska Blanco.
“I have to seize the opportunity now because my memory is spent,” the 85-year-old Castro told guests in Havana.
The Cuban leader had not been seen in public since April 2011 when he attended the closing ceremony of a Communist Party congress.
“I'm willing to do everything possible to convey what I remember well,” Mr. Castro was quoted as saying in the official newspapers Granma , Young Rebel and on the website Cubadebate.
“I've been expressing all the ideas I had and the feelings that I went through. I am aware of the importance of telling all this to pass it so that it can be useful.” During the conversations with Mr. Blanco, which span 1,000 pages, Mr. Castro said, “I prefer an old clock, old eyeglasses, old boots and in politics, everything new.” He gave copies of his two-volume memoirs to Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff during her visit to Cuba this week
