WAXIPEDIA

FIDEL CASTRO at Madame Tussaud's

London, England, United Kingdom

"Fidel Castro, the president of Cuba has been immortalized in London. A wax figure of the Cuban leader is now standing among kings and pop stars at Madame Tussaud's.

The ambassador of Cuba unveiled the wax figure to celebrate the president's 73rd birthday. Fidel Castro overlooks the crowds in London. But he's not there to make one of his long speeches. This Castro is made of wax - the latest addition to Madame Tussaud's wax works museum. The wax figure was unveiled by the Cuban ambassador who was there with his wife. The wax figure wears the well known green army fatigues - donated by Fidel Castro himself. The fatigues and boots were brought to London by the sculptor, Steve Swales. Swales visited Havana last year to take the hundreds of measurements needed for the wax copy of the old revolutionary. As for the real Castro, he was reported to have welcomed his wax incarnation, saying, "It has been for me a great honour, much more than I deserve." After six months of sculpting the wax Fidel Castro is expected to be seen by some 2.6 (m) million tourists who visit the famed wax museum every year. The wax likeness took six months to complete and cost around 30,000 U-S dollars. Madame Tussaud's said that Castro was chosen after recent media coverage and his long presidency. The wax museum says that most national leaders were included among the wax figures to appeal to the numbers of tourists who visit the museum."

* from AP ARCHIVE 08/13/1999 *

Big fan of wax museum's? There's no need to have a "CRISIS"! Though this wax figure of Fidel was originally unveiled in London he now has joined US President and First Lady John & Jacqueline Kennedy at Madame Tussauds Washington DC! Just tell them WAXIPEDIA sent you!

Or if you want more daily fun and excitement join WAXIPEDIA's always exciting FACEBOOK GROUP!

Dedicated to preserving the history of Wax Arts, and the unique stories of all those involved in its development, WAXIPEDIA strives to be the number one source of information on the subject of Wax Museums and their role in the attractions and entertainment industries. Through the sharing of photographs, brochures, movies and stories we hope to enlighten, engage and entertain all who discover us. 

As a resource, the WAXIPEDIA ARCHIVES was established in 2014 as a repository for physical examples and information pertaining to these educational goals. Consisting of thousands of items (ranging from century-and-a-half year old guidebooks to life-sized wax figures) the ARCHIVES are the backbone of WAXIPEDIA's mission and we hope to inspire future generations of artists, designers, historians and fans.

Anyone interested in donating items to the ARCHIVES is encouraged to reach out to me directly at timothywrandall@gmail.com

~ Thank You ~