Fidel Castro's Ice Cream Parlor

I recently read a fascinating and ridiculous article about Fidel Castro's obsession with ice cream and thought I would share some excerpts:

"In “A Personal Portrait of Fidel,” novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez described Castro polishing off 18 scoops after Sunday lunch. His affection for ice cream was such that the CIA attempted to poison his milkshake. “That was the closest the CIA got to assassinating Fidel,” a retired state security general told Reuters in 2007"

In 1966, Castro demanded the construction of the world's greatest ice cream parlor. The problem? Cuba was too warm for cows so the island was mostly dairy free. He took on the challenge of developing a dairy industry in Cuba, even going as far to create a new cow breed, dubbed the "Tropical Holstein." There was one specific cow that was Castro's pride and joy:

"...Ubre Blanca, by far the best of Castro’s Tropical Holsteins. Castro loved to show her to journalists and foreign dignitaries, and Cuba’s press reported her every exploit. Kept in a guarded, air-conditioned stable and constantly monitored by specialists, she produced, in one record-setting day, four times as much milk as the average cow, smashing the previous record set by an American bovine, Arleen."

Castro and Ubre Blanca

Ultimately Castro had a hard time breeding these cows and the dairy industry floundered. However the ice cream parlor, named Coppelia, is still around today with seating for up to 1,000. It is a very popular tourist destination with lines around the block every day. 

Here is the link to the article from Atlas Obsurca