24 Totally Bizarre Photos Of Fidel Castro's 1959 Visit To The US

In 1959, the Cuban politician arrived to the US like a total rock star.

As part of an international victory tour to celebrate the toppling of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, Fidel Castro arrived to New York City in April 1959 to jubilant crowds and celebrations. Ironically, in 1961 Castro would officially declare himself a Marxist-Leninist, solidifying the strain between the United States and Cuba.

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A group of students from Clayton High School of Clayton, Missouri, take a stroll down the street with Fidel Castro. The 32-year-old Cuban leader met the teenagers on his outing and invited them along as company for a brief walk to a nearby park.

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Fidel Castro looks up at a statue of Abraham Lincoln after laying a wreath at the Lincoln Memorial.

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Castro smiles and waves to a crowd of admirers who greeted him on his arrival at New York’s Penn Station on April 21. Castro was scheduled to spend five days in New York before going on to Boston.

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A 19-year-old woman kisses Castro as he signs an autograph for her collection.

AP

Then-Vice President Richard Nixon shakes hands with Castro as they leave Nixon's office after a two-hour chat behind closed doors. The meeting had been listed on Castro's program as a 15-minute visit. In answer to a question, Castro said the meeting had been "very friendly."

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An ecstatic crowd waits for Castro to arrive in New York City.

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Castro holds a 4-year-old boy outfitted in fatigues and a Castro-style beard during a reception at the Cuban Embassy in Washington, DC, April 17.

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Castro has his beard admired during a visit to his hotel by youngsters who attended a Queens school with his son. The boy was secretly living in the US while his father led the Cuban revolution.

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Fidel Castro after halting a walk around Washington, DC, to talk with 9-year-old Willie MoNeil and his 5-year-old brother, Garry, April 16.

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Castro is presented with an invitation to the New York Press Photographer's Ball in New York City, April 23.

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Castro greets baseball great Jackie Robinson at the Overseas Press Club luncheon.

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Fidel Castro waves to onlookers outside the Statler Hotel in New York City.

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Fidel Castro tosses a peanut to an elephant at the Bronx Zoo as he tours New York City.

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Castro faces and points at a Bengal tiger in a cage at the Bronx Zoo.

Carl E. Linde / AP

Castro reaches out to touch a Charbray Herd bull at the J.B. Ferguson ranch near Wharton, Texas, April 28.

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Castro eats an ice cream cone as he rides in the Bronx Zoo train.

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Fidel Castro eating a hot dog during his trip to the Bronx Zoo. Hot dogs are not unknown to Cuba, but are not nearly as common there as they are in the US.

AP

Construction worker Bernhard Berntsen of Brooklyn greets Castro as the latter emerges from a visit at the New York coffee and sugar exchange. Berntsen told Castro he’d done "a good job.” Berntsen said he encouraged Castro with an Old Norwegian expression: “When you’re heading the right way, keep on the right road.”

AP

Castro gestures with his hand while speaking to an estimated crowd of 10,000 people at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, April 25. Members of Castro's party stand behind the speaker.

Matty Zimmerman / AP

Celia Sanchez, left, assistant to Castro, and Dr. Teresa Casuso, ambassador in charge of Castro's public relations, at the Statler Hotel, where the rebel leader established his New York headquarters.

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Fidel Castro answers a question from a panel on the NBC television program Meet the Press in Washington, DC, April 19. He said at one point that Cuba would be committed to the West in event of any struggle between democracy and communism. At left is Ned Brooks, the moderator.

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Castro holds a newspaper headlining the discovery of a plot to kill him on April 23. Castro was at the Overseas Press Club at the time. Police said five brothers had been sent from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to assassinate Castro. Earlier in the day, when asked about a reported assassination attempt, Castro replied, "In Cuba, they had tanks, planes and they run away. So what are they going to do here? I sleep well and don't worry at all."

Marty Lederhandler / AP

Patrolman Walter Marlino puts handcuffs on John Gregory Feller, 23, in Central Park police station, New York City. Feller was seized carrying a homemade bomb only 200 feet from where Castro was addressing a crowd of 35,000 in Central Park.

New York Post Archives / Getty Images

Castro smiles to reporters in New York City, April 22.