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Humberto Fontova
Born	1954 Havana
Occupation	Political commentator

Humberto Fontova (1954-) is a Cuban-American author, blogger, political commentator, and conservative polemicist. Ardently anti-communist, his work is largely concerned with correcting what he argues is a Left-wing revisionist and pro-communist view of Cuban history predominant in the entertainment industry, the mainstream media and sections of the academy. His writing features a blend of quotations, mild profanity, sarcasm and humor, often directed against targets on the political left. Such literary techniques have led to his work being described as "an art form of mixing frustration with ridicule."

Early life

Fontova was born in 1954 in Havana, Cuba. As supporters of the Fulgencio Batista regime, Fontova's family went into exile to the United States (New Orleans) in 1961, when he was seven years old. Coinciding with their exodus, his father was held prisoner by the regime of Fidel Castro for three months after the Cuban Revolution, although he was later released. A short time later Fontova's cousin Pedro, whom he describes as a "fervent Catholic activist" who spoke out against the new regime, died while in Cuban state custody. The official cause of death given was a heart attack, although Fontova believes he was murdered by police interrogators.

Works

As an avid hunter, fisherman and scuba diver, Fontova began his publishing career writing for the outdoor themed magazines Louisiana Sportsman, Sierra, Scuba Times and Bowhunter. In 2001 he published his first book The Helldivers' Rodeo, an account of an extreme scuba diving and spear fishing adventure, followed in 2003 by The Hellpig Hunt, about a hunting adventure in the wetlands along the Mississippi River.

Fontova later entered the political publishing arena and authored two Cuba-related polemics. First Fidel: Hollywood's Favorite Tyrant and Exposing the Real Che Guevara and the Useful Idiots Who Idolize Him, a critique of Che Guevara and those whom support him.

Fontova is a frequent contributor to several conservative/right-wing websites and has made a guest appearance on the Glenn Beck Program and Fox News show Hannity and Colmes.

Fidel: Hollywood's Favorite Tyrant

Fidel: Hollywood's Favorite Tyrant criticizes American celebrities, particularly Hollywood actors, who support Fidel Castro's government in Cuba and often travel to meet with Castro personally. Among those singled out are Jack Nicholson, Danny Glover, Harry Belafonte, Chevy Chase, Steven Spielberg, Ted Turner, and Dan Rather. Fontova interviews dissidents as well as former government agents, such as Delfin Fernandez, who recounts how he was ordered to bug these same celebrities' rooms with secret microphones and video cameras so that they could be monitored.

Review and writing style

Perhaps predictably, Fontova's work has been disdained by Left-leaning writers and endorsed by conservative writers. However, Fontova's critics tend to take issue with the rhetorical effectiveness of his gung-ho style, rather than disputing the claims he makes or rejecting the evidence he adduces.

Travel-writer Rolf Potts in a review of Fontova's Exposing the Real Che Guevara and the Useful Idiots Who Idolize Him for World Hum, notes that "taken in selective doses", the book puts "some well-placed holes in Che's presumed humanism and military competence." However, Potts laments that what "is meant to be a polemic against Guevara's t-shirt-certified mythology" actually ends up showing "how Che's reputation benefits from the myopic fury and misguided political influence of those who hate him the most." Pott's goes on to critique the book's "slightly schizophrenic tone" for meandering off into subject matter that has little to do with the book's premise, while positing that the books seems "less an indictment of Guevara than the New York Times or John F. Kennedy. Ultimately, Potts states, the book is "less about Che Guevara than the King Lear-style resentments of the Cuban-Americans who hate him -- and the effectiveness of its argument suffers as a result."

British journalist and media commentator Alex Singleton, reviewing the same volume for the Social Affairs Unit, states "Fontova's book aims to challenge the mythology surrounding Guevara. At the very least, it will provide useful factual ammunition for conservatives and libertarians." Singleton differs with Fontova's view on libertarian opponents of America's Cuban embargo, saying that, "The embargo has been completely ineffective but created an excuse for Cuba's poor economic performance." Nevertheless, Singleton's conclusion is that the book is an important one, having earlier in the review expressed the hope that it will "encourage scholars to reanalyse the conventional wisdom."

Journalist and Buenos Aires bureau chief for Dow Jones Newswires Michael Casey reviewed Exposing the Real Che Guevara and the Useful Idiots Who Idolize Him in his 2009 book Che's Afterlife: The Legacy of an Image, makes comments similar to those of Potts regarding Fontova's prose style, describing it as a marriage of Ann Coulter with the Gonzo journalism of Hunter S. Thompson --- "he basically yells at his readers, mixing a sarcastic wit with a touch of self-deprecation until it is overwhelmed by disdain for his opponents." Lastly, Casey observes that Fontova often "lathers himself into a rage" when it comes to the issue of Che Guevara, noting that his barrage of hyperbole leads him to describe Guevara as an "assassin", "sadist", "bumbler", "fool", and "whimpering-sniveling-blubbering coward" who is "revered by millions of imbeciles."

Other invective descriptions that Fontova often lobs against Guevara is that he was "shallow", "boorish", "epically stupid", and "a fraud"; whom Fontova considers to be a "murdering swine", an "intellectual vacuum", and an "insufferable Argentine jackass."

References

^ Casey, Michael (2009). Che's afterlife: the legacy of an image. New York: Vintage Books. pp. 249–50. ISBN 0-307-27930-8.
Fontova, Humberto (2007). Exposing the Real Che Guevara: And the Useful Idiots Who Idolize Him. Sentinel HC. p. xi. ISBN 1-59523-027-0.
^ Potts, Rolf (January 27, 2009). "Che: The Ronald McDonald of Revolution". World Hum.
Singleton, Alex (March 6, 2008). "Alex Singleton on the two Che Guevaras". Social Affairs Unit.
Fontova, Humberto (October 8, 2009). "Che Guevara: Assassin, Coward, Imbecile". Canada Free Press.

External links

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