FIFTY-SIX YEARS ago today, in 1959, a 32-year-old victorious revolutionary named Fidel Castro arrived at Back Bay Station to face a raucous crowd of 5,000 Bostonians.
 
He was headed to Harvard, his last stop on a 12-day trip along the East Coast. Asked why he was speaking at Harvard, Castro explained: “That is where you find the real ‘military spirit:’ in students, not in the barracks.”