Taking his visitors on a slow walking tour of Havana's labyrinthine Palacio de la Revolucion, Castro gestures toward an enormous mosaic of birds, animals and flowers that dominates the reception hall and quietly begins a story. The artist, he explains, cast the ceramic tiles at the same time the architect was completing the building's interior. Through some misunderstanding between the two men, the ceiling was built too low. When it came time to install the intricately etched tiles, the top two rows did not fit. The artist never forgave the architect whose miscalculations robbed his mosaic of its crown.
Someone asks what became of the architect.
Contemplating the missing top rows, Castro shrugs. He was shot. Then Castro roars with laughter at his joke, a parody of his image as a bloodthirsty dictator. And with that, the evening and the aging commandant suddenly come alive. But in truth he faces now what may be his gravest challenge yet.