Castro engrossed with Pan Am Games

Convalescing Fidel Castro said in an essay Tuesday that he has been so engrossed with Cuba's performance at the Pan American Games in Brazil that he forgets to eat and take his medicine.

"I hardly take my eyes off the television set," Castro wrote in the latest of a series of essays he has penned in recent months. "Sometimes I forget the hour of some meal, or a pill."

Castro mentioned watching Cuba's baseball team and the women's volleyball team in its game against the United States "in which our players did everything perfect."

He also praised the women's and men's handball teams _ "What speed, what force!" he wrote _ and said he was absorbed by Cuban competitors in weightlifting, rowing, cycling and women's gymnastics. The government e-mailed the essay to international reporters in Havana.

Cuba has won 20 medals so far in the games, including nine gold. The competition being held in Rio de Janeiro involves countries in the Western hemisphere.

Although senior Cuban officials have said that Castro is recovering well from intestinal surgery nearly a year ago, they no longer insist he will resume full governance of the country.

Castro, who turns 81 next month, announced last July 31 that he had undergone emergency surgery and was temporarily ceding power to his brother Raul during his recovery. The communist-run country has been little-changed since Raul, the 76-year-old defense minister, became interim leader.

The elder Castro was last seen in public last July 26 during a speech in the eastern city of Bayamo commemorating the launch of his armed uprising with a 1953 attack on a military barracks.

This year's main July 26 celebration will be held next week in the eastern provincial capital of Camaguey and it is widely believed that Raul, rather than Fidel, will preside over the ceremonies.

Although Fidel traditionally addresses the nation during the annual Revolution Day celebration, Raul has occasionally made the central speech in past years.

Cuban authorities have never revealed Castro's exact ailment or condition, but he is said to suffer from diverticular disease, an inflammation of the colon that can cause bleeding and require surgery.