 Castro was Lina 's third child , born out of wedlock at Ángel 's farm on August 13 , 1926 . Because of the stigma of illegitimacy , he was given his mother 's surname of Ruz rather than his father 's name . Although Ángel 's business ventures prospered , he ensured that Fidel grew up alongside the children of the farm 's workforce , many of whom were Haitian economic migrants of African descent . This experience , Castro later related , prevented him from absorbing " bourgeois culture " at an early age . 
