Ava Gardner enjoyed relationships with fellow celebrities such as Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw, and Frank Sinatra. She was introduced to Fidel Castro soon after his army succeeded in removing Fulgencio Batista in Cuba.
Ava was reportedly interested in the Cuban fight, and her ex-husband Mickey Rooney even called her a "red," meaning he believed she was a Communist sympathizer.
Ava was reportedly romantically interested in Fidel when she arrived in Cuba, but the leader was in a relationship with his 19-year-old translator and girlfriend, Marita Lorenz.
Marita wasn't interested in losing her connection to Fidel, and she spent much of Ava's visit blocking the actress from visiting with Fidel one-on-one. Ava reportedly wrote notes to Fidel that Marita received instead.
Author Lee Server explained in his book Ava Gardner: Love Is Nothing that Fidel pulled out all the stops. He writes, "Castro greeted her with extravagant Latin gallantry. He took her on a tour of his headquarters, high up in a former VIP suite, now transformed into disheveled office space he shared with his brother Raul and Che Guevara. They sat on the balcony overlooking the whole city, drank Cuba libres, and Castro told her about the revolution and his dream of a prosperous and equitable future for his nation."
Ava apparently got tired of Marita standing in the way and decided to confront her instead. Ava, who had been drinking, yelled at Marita and told her to stop keeping Fidel from her.
Marita reportedly left the room the two women were in and tried to take the elevator up, but Ava stopped her. Ava slapped Marita across the face, causing Fidel's security guards to step in between the two women.
Fidel reportedly decided it wasn't worth it to him to pursue Ava, and he had her moved. As Marita herself later explained, "He had fixed up Ava Gardner with an aide who was to satisfy her in a suite at the National Hotel, compliments of Cuba."
