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{{Short description|Cuban-American minister}}
{{Short description|Cuban-American minister (born 1939)}}
{{about||his son|Ted Cruz|other people}}
{{for-multi|his son|Ted Cruz|other people}}
{{family name hatnote|Cruz|Díaz|lang=Spanish}}
{{family name hatnote|Cruz|Díaz|lang=Spanish}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
|name = Rafael Cruz
| name = Rafael Cruz
|image = Ted Cruz's Father Pastor Rafael Cruz at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, Oklahoma City, OK May 2015 by Michael Vadon 03.jpg
| image = Ted Cruz's Father Pastor Rafael Cruz at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, Oklahoma City, OK May 2015 by Michael Vadon 03.jpg
|caption = Cruz speaking at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in 2015
| caption = Cruz speaking at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in 2015
|birth_name = Rafael Bienvenido Cruz y Díaz
| birth_name = Rafael Bienvenido Cruz y Díaz
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1939|3|22}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1939|3|22}}
|birth_place = [[Matanzas]], [[Republic of Cuba (1902–1959)|Cuba]]
| birth_place = [[Matanzas]], [[Republic of Cuba (1902–1959)|Cuba]]
|death_date =
| death_date =
|death_place =
| death_place =
|nationality = [[Cuba]]n (1939–present)<ref name=npr/><br>[[Canada|Canadian]] (1973–2005)<br>[[United States|American]] (2005–present)
| nationality = [[Cuba]]n (1939–present)<ref name=npr/><br>[[Canada|Canadian]] (1973–2005)<br>[[United States|American]] (2005–present)
|education = [[University of Santiago de Cuba]]<br>[[University of Texas at Austin|University of Texas, Austin]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])
| education = [[University of Santiago de Cuba]]<br>[[University of Texas at Austin|University of Texas, Austin]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])
|party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|spouse = {{marriage|Julia Garza|1959|end=divorced}}<br>{{marriage|Eleanor Darragh Wilson|1969|1997|end=divorced}}
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Julia Garza|1959|1963|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Eleanor Darragh Wilson|1969|1997|end=divorced}}
⚫
|children = 3, including [[Ted Cruz|Ted]]
}}
}}
⚫
| children = 3, including [[Ted Cruz|Ted]]
⚫
'''Rafael Bienvenido Cruz y Díaz''' (born March 22, 1939) is a [[Cuban-American]] [[Protestant]] preacher and father of Texas U.S. Senator [[Ted Cruz]]. He regularly serves as a surrogate in his son's [[political campaign]]s.<ref name=Bailey>{{cite news|last1=Bailey|first1=Holly|title=Meet Rafael Cruz: Ted Cruz's secret evangelical weapon|url=https://www.yahoo.com/politics/meet-rafael-cruz-ted-cruz-1286671921045558.html|access-date=December 4, 2015|work=Yahoo! Politics|publisher=[[Yahoo!]]|date=October 27, 2015|quote=One of his son's closest advisers and confidants, Cruz is a tireless surrogate ...}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hook |first1=Janet |title=Ted Cruz's Father Fires Up Campaign Rhetoric|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/ted-cruzs-father-fires-up-campaign-rhetoric-1434880803 |access-date=December 5, 2015 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=June 21, 2015}}</ref>
}}
⚫
'''Rafael Bienvenido Cruz y Díaz''' (born March 22, 1939)<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-IedBAAAQBAJ&dq=rafael+cruz+march+22+1939&pg=PT28 | title=A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America | isbn=9780062365637 | last1=Cruz | first1=Ted | date=June 30, 2015 | publisher=HarperCollins }}</ref> is a [[Cuban-American]] [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] preacher and the father of U.S. Senator [[Ted Cruz]]. He has served as a surrogate in his son's [[political campaign]]s.<ref name=Bailey>{{cite news|last1=Bailey|first1=Holly|title=Meet Rafael Cruz: Ted Cruz's secret evangelical weapon|url=https://www.yahoo.com/politics/meet-rafael-cruz-ted-cruz-1286671921045558.html|access-date=December 4, 2015|work=Yahoo! Politics|publisher=[[Yahoo!]]|date=October 27, 2015|quote=One of his son's closest advisers and confidants, Cruz is a tireless surrogate ...}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hook |first1=Janet |title=Ted Cruz's Father Fires Up Campaign Rhetoric|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/ted-cruzs-father-fires-up-campaign-rhetoric-1434880803 |access-date=December 5, 2015 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=June 21, 2015}}</ref>


== Early life ==
== Early life ==
Cruz was born in [[Matanzas]], [[Cuba]], in 1939. His father, Rafael Cruz, was a salesman for [[RCA]], originally from the [[Canary Islands]], [[Spain]]. His mother, Emilia Laudelina Díaz, was a teacher.<ref name=CostaNatlRev08282013/><ref name="google">{{cite web|url=https://www.google.co.uk/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=ted+cruz+great+grandparents+and+son+canary+islands+.&=#hl=en&tbm=bks&q=was+to+this+fledgling+nation+that+my+great+grandparents+arrived+in+1902+from+the+Canary+Islands.+Agustin+and+Maria+Cruz+boarded+a+ship+with+their+infant+son,+Rafael,+bound+for+the+New+World. |title=Ted Cruz great grandparents and son Canary Islands . - Google Search <!--########## A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America By Ted Cruz. #########--> |access-date=February 7, 2016}}</ref><ref name="huffingtonpost">{{cite web|last= Smolenyak |first= Megan |author-link= Megan Smolenyak |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/megan-smolenyak-smolenyak/ted-cruz-and-the-question_b_8937948.html|title=Ted Cruz and the Question of 'Natural Born' Citizenship|work= [[The Huffington Post]] |date= January 8, 2016 |access-date=February 7, 2016}}</ref>
Cruz was born in [[Matanzas]], [[Cuba]], in 1939. His father, also named Rafael Cruz, was a salesman for [[RCA]], originally from the [[Canary Islands]], [[Spain]]. His mother, Emilia Laudelina Díaz, was a teacher.<ref name=CostaNatlRev08282013/><ref name="huffingtonpost">{{cite news|last= Smolenyak |first= Megan |author-link= Megan Smolenyak |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/megan-smolenyak-smolenyak/ted-cruz-and-the-question_b_8937948.html|title=Ted Cruz and the Question of 'Natural Born' Citizenship|work= [[The Huffington Post]] |date= January 8, 2016 |access-date=February 7, 2016}}</ref>


Cruz attended Arturo Echemendia primary school in Matanzas.<ref name="HorowitzNYT11092015"/> Cruz joined the [[Cuban Revolution]] as a teenager and "suffered beatings and imprisonment for protesting the oppressive regime"<ref name=CostaNatlRev08282013/><ref name="HorowitzNYT11092015">{{cite news|last= Horowitz |first= Jason |title= Cuban Peers Dispute Ted Cruz's Father's Story of Fighting for Castro |date= November 9, 2015 |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/us/politics/cuban-peers-dispute-ted-cruzs-fathers-story-of-fighting-for-castro.html |access-date= November 10, 2015}}</ref><ref>[http://www.christianpost.com/news/4-rising-stars-from-the-democratic-republican-conventions-81324/ 4 Rising stars from the Democratic, Republican conventions], ''[[The Christian Post]]'', Napp Nazworth, September 10, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2015.</ref><ref name=GarrettDallasNews04282013/> of dictator [[Fulgencio Batista]].<ref name=Lizza>{{Cite magazine |last=Lizza |first=Ryan |author-link=Ryan Lizza |date=November 19, 2012 |title=The Party Next Time |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |pages=50–57|url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/11/19/121119fa_fact_lizza |access-date=July 20, 2013}}</ref> Cruz enrolled at the age of 17 at the [[University of Santiago de Cuba|University of Santiago]] in September 1956.<ref name="HorowitzNYT11092015"/> According to Cruz, as a teenager, he "didn't know Castro was a Communist".<ref name=Garrett2011-10-25>{{cite news|last=Garrett|first=Robert T.|date=October 25, 2011|title=Ted Cruz says he hasn't misled about his father's exodus from Cuba |url=http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2011/10/ted-cruz-background-as-son-of.html/|newspaper=[[The Dallas Morning News]]|access-date=November 10, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Liptak|first=Kevin|date=August 12, 2013|title=Sen. Ted Cruz's dad makes fiery anti-Obama speech|url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/08/12/sen-ted-cruzs-dad-makes-fiery-anti-obama-speech/|publisher=[[CNN]]|access-date=November 10, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Morgenstern|first=Madeleine|date=March 26, 2013|title=Who's the GOP Sen. Being Called 'The New Standard-Bearer for Constitutional Conservatism'?|url=http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/03/26/the-new-standard-bearer-for-constitutional-conservatism-ted-cruzs-meteoric-rise-is-sitting-well-with-his-supporters/|newspaper=[[TheBlaze]]|access-date=November 10, 2014}}</ref> Cruz has stated in interviews that he was jailed by Batista for several days in June or July 1957 and after he was released he applied to and was accepted by the [[University of Texas at Austin|University of Texas]] in August 1957. He obtained a student visa<ref name="Natrev"/> after an attorney for the family bribed a Batista official to grant him an exit permit.<ref name="npr">{{cite web |last= Welna |first= David |url= https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2013/06/20/193585553/how-ted-cruzs-father-shaped-his-views-on-immigration |title=How Ted Cruz's Father Shaped His Views On Immigration |date=June 20, 2013 |publisher=[[NPR]]}}</ref><ref name=Bailey/><ref name=Cruz07062011>{{cite web|title=Ted Cruz for US Senate - Bio|publisher= [[Ted Cruz]] |url=http://www.tedcruz.org/bio/|access-date=July 6, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706055748/http://www.tedcruz.org/bio/|archive-date=July 6, 2011}}</ref> Cruz said he left with $100 sewn into his underwear taking a two-day bus ride from Florida, arriving with little or no English to enroll at the [[University of Texas at Austin|University of Texas]].<ref name="KRiddellWashTimes04272016">{{cite news |last=Riddell |first=Kelly |date=April 27, 2016 |title=Rafael Cruz finds success on speaking circuit as son runs for president |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/27/rafael-cruz-father-of-ted-cruz-stars-as-2016-campa/?page=all |newspaper=[[The Washington Times]] |location=[[Washington, DC]] |access-date=April 28, 2016 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2014/january/how-ted-cruz-dad-rafael-became-a-gop-rock-star How Ted Cruz's dad, Rafael, became a GOP rock star], ''[[D Magazine]]'', Michael J. Mooney, January 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2015.</ref>
Cruz attended Arturo Echemendia primary school in Matanzas.<ref name="HorowitzNYT11092015"/> He said he joined the [[Cuban Revolution]] as a teenager and "suffered beatings and imprisonment for protesting the oppressive regime" of dictator [[Fulgencio Batista]], although an extensive search by the New York Times found no evidence for his claims.<ref name=CostaNatlRev08282013/><ref name="HorowitzNYT11092015">{{cite news|last= Horowitz |first= Jason |title= Cuban Peers Dispute Ted Cruz's Father's Story of Fighting for Castro |date= November 9, 2015 |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/us/politics/cuban-peers-dispute-ted-cruzs-fathers-story-of-fighting-for-castro.html |access-date= November 10, 2015}}</ref><ref>[http://www.christianpost.com/news/4-rising-stars-from-the-democratic-republican-conventions-81324/ 4 Rising stars from the Democratic, Republican conventions], ''[[The Christian Post]]'', Napp Nazworth, September 10, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2015.</ref><ref name=GarrettDallasNews04282013/><ref name=Lizza>{{Cite magazine |last=Lizza |first=Ryan |author-link=Ryan Lizza |date=November 19, 2012 |title=The Party Next Time |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |pages=50–57|url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/11/19/121119fa_fact_lizza |access-date=July 20, 2013}}</ref> In September 1956 at age 17, Cruz enrolled at the [[University of Santiago de Cuba|University of Santiago]].<ref name="HorowitzNYT11092015"/> According to Cruz, as a teenager, he "didn't know Castro was a Communist".<ref>{{cite news |last=Liptak |first=Kevin |date=August 12, 2013 |title=Sen. Ted Cruz's dad makes fiery anti-Obama speech |url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/08/12/sen-ted-cruzs-dad-makes-fiery-anti-obama-speech/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826000153/https://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/08/12/sen-ted-cruzs-dad-makes-fiery-anti-obama-speech/ |archive-date=August 26, 2013 |access-date=November 10, 2014 |publisher=[[CNN]]}}</ref> Cruz has stated in interviews that he was jailed by Batista for several days in June or July 1957 and after he was released he applied to and was accepted by the [[University of Texas at Austin|University of Texas]] (UT) in August 1957. He obtained a student visa<ref name="Natrev"/> after an attorney for the family bribed a Batista official to grant him an exit permit.<ref name="npr">{{cite web |last= Welna |first= David |url= https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2013/06/20/193585553/how-ted-cruzs-father-shaped-his-views-on-immigration |title=How Ted Cruz's Father Shaped His Views On Immigration |date=June 20, 2013 |publisher=[[NPR]]}}</ref><ref name=Bailey/><ref name=Cruz07062011>{{cite web|title=Ted Cruz for US Senate - Bio|publisher= [[Ted Cruz]] |url=http://www.tedcruz.org/bio/|access-date=July 6, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706055748/http://www.tedcruz.org/bio/|archive-date=July 6, 2011}}</ref> Cruz said he left with $100 sewn into his underwear, taking a two-day bus ride from Florida, arriving with little or no English to enroll at the University of Texas.<ref name="KRiddellWashTimes04272016">{{cite news |last=Riddell |first=Kelly |date=April 27, 2016 |title=Rafael Cruz finds success on speaking circuit as son runs for president |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/27/rafael-cruz-father-of-ted-cruz-stars-as-2016-campa/?page=all |newspaper=[[The Washington Times]] |location=[[Washington, DC]] |access-date=April 28, 2016 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2014/january/how-ted-cruz-dad-rafael-became-a-gop-rock-star How Ted Cruz's dad, Rafael, became a GOP rock star], ''[[D Magazine]]'', Michael J. Mooney, January 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2015.</ref>


He graduated from UT with a degree in mathematics and chemical engineering four years later in 1961.<ref name="GarrettDallasNews04282013" /><ref name="Natrev">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/282228/exile-and-revolution-mario-loyola|title=Exile and the Revolution|website=National Review Online|date=November 4, 2011|access-date=2016-04-28}}</ref> Cruz states he worked his way through college as a dishwasher, making 50 cents an hour and learned English by going to movies.<ref name="KRiddellWashTimes04272016"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/ted-cruzs-dad-bribe-helped-to-exit-cuba-093133 | title=Cruz's dad: Bribe helped to exit Cuba | publisher=[[Politico]] | date=June 20, 2013 | access-date=November 27, 2015 | author=Breanna Edwards}}</ref> When he arrived in Austin he gave dozens of speeches in support of the Revolution to various clubs, but later after a visit back to Cuba in the summer of 1959 he became a harsh critic of Castro after "the rebel leader took control and began seizing private property and suppressing dissent".<ref name="Garrett2011-10-25" /> Upon returning he revisited the same groups to give lectures opposing Castro and the Revolution.<ref name="Natrev"/> Cruz recounts that his younger sister fought against the new regime in the [[Counter-revolutionary|counter-revolution]] and was consequently tortured. He remained regretful for his early support of Castro and expressed his remorse to his son on numerous occasions.<ref name="CostaNatlRev08282013"/><ref name="Lizza"/>
He graduated from UT with a degree in mathematics and chemical engineering in 1961.<ref name="GarrettDallasNews04282013" /><ref name="Natrev">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/282228/exile-and-revolution-mario-loyola|title=Exile and the Revolution|website=National Review Online|date=November 4, 2011|access-date=2016-04-28}}</ref> Cruz states he worked his way through college as a dishwasher, making 50 cents an hour and learned English by going to movies.<ref name="KRiddellWashTimes04272016"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/ted-cruzs-dad-bribe-helped-to-exit-cuba-093133 | title=Cruz's dad: Bribe helped to exit Cuba | publisher=[[Politico]] | date=June 20, 2013 | access-date=November 27, 2015 | author=Breanna Edwards}}</ref> Upon returning he revisited the same groups to give lectures opposing Castro and the Revolution.<ref name="Natrev"/> Cruz recounts that his younger sister fought against the new regime in the [[Counter-revolutionary|counter-revolution]] and was consequently tortured. He remained regretful for his early support of Castro and expressed his remorse to his son on numerous occasions.<ref name="CostaNatlRev08282013"/><ref name="Lizza"/>


After Cruz graduated from the University of Texas in 1961, he was granted political asylum in the United States following the expiration of his student visa.<ref name="npr"/> In his late twenties, Cruz moved to New Orleans. In 1969 at age 30, during his employment at his new oil company job, he met [[Wilmington, Delaware]], native and divorcée, Eleanor Elizabeth Wilson<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2013/08/19/ted-cruz-birth-certificate-canadian-citizenship-questionnaire/ |work=[[The Dallas Morning News]] |title=Ted Cruz birth certificate. Canadian citizenship questionnaire. |first=Todd |last=Gillman |date=19 August 2013 |quote=Cruz was kind enough to release a copy of his Canadian birth certificate}}</ref> (born November, 23, 1934 as Eleanor Darragh).<ref>{{cite news |work=[[CBS News]] |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ted-cruz-releases-mothers-birth-certificate-after-citizenship-debate/ |first=Reena |last=Flores |date=9 January 2016 |title=Ted Cruz releases mother's birth certificate amid citizenship debate |quote=The document shows that Eleanor Darragh, Cruz's mother, was born in the state of Delaware on Nov. 23, 1934}}</ref> Eleanor's first marriage, at age 21, was to Alan Wilson, a mathematician, in 1956. Due to career opportunities, the couple moved to [[London]], England, in 1960. They divorced in 1963. The then 34-year-old computer programmer returned to the United States in 1966.<ref>{{cite book |year=2015 |title=A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America |first=Ted |last=Cruz |quote=In 1956, my mom married her first husband, a mathematician named Alan Wilson,” Cruz wrote. The couple moved to London in 1960}}</ref><ref name=Recio/> Cruz and Wilson were married in 1969,<ref name=Recio/> and shortly after were sent to [[Calgary]], Canada, where their only child, [[Ted Cruz|Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz]], was born on December 22, 1970.<ref name="Texplainer08132012">{{cite news|title=Texplainer: Could Canadian-Born Ted Cruz Be President?|first=John Wayne|last=Ferguson|url=http://www.texastribune.org/2012/08/13/texplainer-could-canadian-born-ted-cruz-be-preside/|newspaper=[[Texas Tribune]]|date=August 13, 2012|access-date=August 17, 2013}}</ref> While in Calgary, the couple owned a [[Reflection seismology|seismic-data processing]] firm called R.B. Cruz and Associates for oil [[Well drilling|drillers]]. The firm later became Veritas and ultimately part of [[CGG (company)|CGG]]. Cruz earned Canadian citizenship in 1973.<ref name="Macleans">{{cite news|title=Ted Cruz: Made in Canada|last1=Abel|first1=Allen|last2=Markusoff|first2=Jason|url=http://www.macleans.ca/politics/washington/ted-cruz-made-in-canada|newspaper=[[Maclean's Magazine]]|date=January 13, 2016|access-date=January 15, 2016}}</ref> The family of three then moved to [[Houston]], Texas.<ref name=CostaNatlRev08282013/><ref name="GarrettDallasNews04282013">{{cite news|title=Senate candidate Ted Cruz aims to pick up mantle of Reagan|author=Garrett, Robert T.|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20120428-senate-candidate-ted-cruz-aims-to-pick-up-mantle-of-reagan.ece|newspaper=[[The Dallas Morning News]]|date=April 28, 2012|access-date=August 22, 2013}}</ref> Eleanor and Rafael Cruz divorced in 1997.<ref name="npr"/><ref name=Recio/><ref name="GilmanDallasNews08182013">{{cite news|title = Canada-born Ted Cruz became a citizen of that country as well as U.S.|author = Gillman, Todd J.|url = http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20130818-born-in-canada-ted-cruz-became-a-citizen-of-that-country-as-well-as-u.s..ece|newspaper = [[The Dallas Morning News]]|date = August 18, 2013|access-date = August 19, 2013}}</ref>
After Cruz graduated, he was granted political asylum in the United States following the expiration of his student visa.<ref name="npr"/> In his late twenties, Cruz moved to New Orleans. In 1969 at age 30, during his employment at his new oil company job, he met [[Wilmington, Delaware]], native and divorcée, Eleanor Elizabeth Wilson<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2013/08/19/ted-cruz-birth-certificate-canadian-citizenship-questionnaire/ |work=[[The Dallas Morning News]] |title=Ted Cruz birth certificate. Canadian citizenship questionnaire. |first=Todd |last=Gillman |date=19 August 2013 |quote=Cruz was kind enough to release a copy of his Canadian birth certificate}}</ref> (born November 23, 1934, as Eleanor Darragh).<ref>{{cite news |work=[[CBS News]] |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ted-cruz-releases-mothers-birth-certificate-after-citizenship-debate/ |first=Reena |last=Flores |date=9 January 2016 |title=Ted Cruz releases mother's birth certificate amid citizenship debate |quote=The document shows that Eleanor Darragh, Cruz's mother, was born in the state of Delaware on Nov. 23, 1934}}</ref> Eleanor's first marriage, at age 21, was to Alan Wilson, a mathematician, in 1956. The couple moved to [[London]], England, for career opportunities in 1960. They divorced in 1963. The then 31-year-old computer programmer returned to the United States in 1966.<ref>{{cite book |year=2015 |title=A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America |first=Ted |last=Cruz |quote=In 1956, my mom married her first husband, a mathematician named Alan Wilson," Cruz wrote. The couple moved to London in 1960}}</ref><ref name=Recio/> Cruz and Wilson were married in 1969,<ref name=Recio/> and shortly after were sent to [[Calgary]], Canada, where their only child, [[Ted Cruz|Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz]], was born on December 22, 1970.<ref name="Texplainer08132012">{{cite news|title=Texplainer: Could Canadian-Born Ted Cruz Be President?|first=John Wayne|last=Ferguson|url=http://www.texastribune.org/2012/08/13/texplainer-could-canadian-born-ted-cruz-be-preside/|newspaper=[[Texas Tribune]]|date=August 13, 2012|access-date=August 17, 2013}}</ref> While in Calgary, the couple owned a [[Reflection seismology|seismic-data processing]] firm called R.B. Cruz and Associates that provided services for oil [[Well drilling|drillers]]. The firm later became Veritas and ultimately part of [[CGG (company)|CGG]]. Cruz earned Canadian citizenship in 1973.<ref name="Macleans">{{cite news|title=Ted Cruz: Made in Canada|last1=Abel|first1=Allen|last2=Markusoff|first2=Jason|url=http://www.macleans.ca/politics/washington/ted-cruz-made-in-canada|newspaper=[[Maclean's Magazine]]|date=January 13, 2016|access-date=January 15, 2016}}</ref> The family of three then moved to [[Houston]], Texas.<ref name=CostaNatlRev08282013/><ref name="GarrettDallasNews04282013">{{cite news|title=Senate candidate Ted Cruz aims to pick up mantle of Reagan|author=Garrett, Robert T.|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20120428-senate-candidate-ted-cruz-aims-to-pick-up-mantle-of-reagan.ece|newspaper=[[The Dallas Morning News]]|date=April 28, 2012|access-date=August 22, 2013}}</ref> Eleanor and Rafael Cruz divorced in 1997.<ref name="npr"/><ref name=Recio/><ref name="GilmanDallasNews08182013">{{cite news|title = Canada-born Ted Cruz became a citizen of that country as well as U.S.|author = Gillman, Todd J.|url = http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20130818-born-in-canada-ted-cruz-became-a-citizen-of-that-country-as-well-as-u.s..ece|newspaper = [[The Dallas Morning News]]|date = August 18, 2013|access-date = August 19, 2013|archive-date = August 19, 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130819145057/http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20130818-born-in-canada-ted-cruz-became-a-citizen-of-that-country-as-well-as-u.s..ece|url-status = dead}}</ref>


== Religious and political beliefs ==
== Religious and political beliefs ==


[[File:Pastor Rafael Cruz.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Cruz speaking at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Oklahoma City - 2015]]
[[File:Pastor Rafael Cruz.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Cruz speaking at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Oklahoma City (2015)]]


Cruz left the [[Catholic Church]] in 1975 and became an [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical Protestant]] after attending a Bible study with a colleague and having a [[Born again (Christianity)|born again]] experience. Explaining his leaving the Catholic church, Cruz stated in an interview with ''[[National Review]]'', "The people at the Bible study had a peace that I could not understand, this peace in the midst of trouble. I knew I needed to find that peace by finding Jesus Christ." Following his conversion, his son and wife also became born-again Protestants. In the Cruz home, talk at dinner time was frequently about the Bible.<ref name=CostaNatlRev08282013/> He was ordained as a pastor in 2004.<ref name=Twohey>[https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/30/us/politics/rafael-cruz-mannatech.html Ted Cruz’s Father Worked With Supplements Maker Sued by Investors], ''[[New York Times]]'', MeganTwohey, April 29, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2018.</ref>
Cruz left the [[Catholic Church]] in 1975 and became an [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical Protestant]] after attending a Bible study with a colleague and having a [[Born again (Christianity)|born again]] experience. Explaining his leaving the Catholic church, Cruz stated in an interview with ''[[National Review]]'', "The people at the Bible study had a peace that I could not understand, this peace in the midst of trouble. I knew I needed to find that peace by finding Jesus Christ." Following his conversion, his son and wife also became born-again Protestants. In the Cruz home, talk at dinner time was frequently about the Bible.<ref name=CostaNatlRev08282013/> He was ordained as a pastor in 2004.<ref name=Twohey>[https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/30/us/politics/rafael-cruz-mannatech.html Ted Cruz’s Father Worked With Supplements Maker Sued by Investors], ''[[New York Times]]'', MeganTwohey, April 29, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2018.</ref>


Cruz works from his home in [[Carrollton, Texas|Carrollton]], a suburb of [[Dallas]], as a traveling preacher<ref name=Kroll/><ref name=OlsenHousChron10132012/> and public speaker, campaigning as a surrogate for his son during the 2016 Presidential campaign season.<ref name="KRiddellWashTimes04272016"/><ref name = "HuffPost">{{cite web | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/09/rafael-cruz_n_4755891.html | title=Rafael Cruz, Ted Cruz's Father, Emerges As Outspoken Surrogate For His Son | publisher=[[Associated Press]] via [[The Huffington Post]] | date=February 9, 2014 | access-date=November 27, 2015 | author=Will Weissert}}</ref> In a 2014 [[Associated Press]] story, Cruz was quoted as saying, "I have a burden for this country and I feel that we cannot sit silent." He went on to say that he feels "It's time we stop being politically correct and start being biblically correct."<ref name = "HuffPost"/><ref>{{cite web|last= Jones |first= Russ |title= Christians Need to Be Politically Active Says Father of Sen. Ted Cruz |date= 2015-10-06 |website= Christian Press |location= [[Oxford, Mississippi]] |access-date= 2016-02-02 |url= http://www.christianpress.com/index.php/us/politics/801-christians-need-to-be-politically-active-says-father-of-sen-ted-cruz |quote= Rafael Cruz, father of US Senator Ted Cruz, pastor of a Dallas church and director of North Texas-based Purifying Fire Ministries, said Christians need to be bold speakers for the truth of God and call upon God's people to be salt and light in the culture.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Senator Ted Cruz and Pastor Rafael Cruz |date= 2015-07-18 |website= The Family Leadership Summit |publisher= [[The Family Leader]] |access-date= 2016-02-02 |url= https://thefamilyleadershipsummit.org/senator-ted-cruz-and-pastor-rafael-cruz/ |quote= Today Rafael Cruz is a pastor at a church in Dallas |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160116143509/https://thefamilyleadershipsummit.org/senator-ted-cruz-and-pastor-rafael-cruz/ |archive-date= January 16, 2016 |url-status= dead |df= mdy-all }}</ref>
Cruz works from his home in [[Carrollton, Texas|Carrollton]], a suburb of [[Dallas]], as a traveling preacher<ref name=Kroll/><ref name=OlsenHousChron10132012/> and public speaker, campaigning as a surrogate for his son during the 2016 presidential campaign season.<ref name="KRiddellWashTimes04272016"/><ref name = "HuffPost">{{cite web | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/09/rafael-cruz_n_4755891.html | title=Rafael Cruz, Ted Cruz's Father, Emerges As Outspoken Surrogate For His Son | publisher=[[Associated Press]] via [[The Huffington Post]] | date=February 9, 2014 | access-date=November 27, 2015 | author=Will Weissert}}</ref> In a 2014 [[Associated Press]] story, Cruz was quoted as saying, "I have a burden for this country and I feel that we cannot sit silent." He went on to say that he feels "It's time we stop being politically correct and start being biblically correct."<ref name = "HuffPost"/><ref>{{cite web|last= Jones |first= Russ |title= Christians Need to Be Politically Active Says Father of Sen. Ted Cruz |date= 2015-10-06 |website= Christian Press |location= [[Oxford, Mississippi]] |access-date= 2016-02-02 |url= http://www.christianpress.com/index.php/us/politics/801-christians-need-to-be-politically-active-says-father-of-sen-ted-cruz |quote= Rafael Cruz, father of US Senator Ted Cruz, pastor of a Dallas church and director of North Texas-based Purifying Fire Ministries, said Christians need to be bold speakers for the truth of God and call upon God's people to be salt and light in the culture.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Senator Ted Cruz and Pastor Rafael Cruz |date= 2015-07-18 |website= The Family Leadership Summit |publisher= [[The Family Leader]] |access-date= 2016-02-02 |url= https://thefamilyleadershipsummit.org/senator-ted-cruz-and-pastor-rafael-cruz/ |quote= Today Rafael Cruz is a pastor at a church in Dallas |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160116143509/https://thefamilyleadershipsummit.org/senator-ted-cruz-and-pastor-rafael-cruz/ |archive-date= January 16, 2016 |url-status= dead |df= mdy-all }}</ref>


About his political involvements in the 1980s, Cruz reflected, "I was on the state board of the Religious Roundtable, a Christian and Jewish religious organization that worked to elect [[Ronald Reagan]]." At the time, he told his son, "God has destined you for greatness."<ref name="KRiddellWashTimes04272016"/><ref>[http://blogs.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2013/07/22/brody-file-exclusive-ted-cruzs-father-tells-his-son-god.aspx Brody File Exclusive: Ted Cruz’s Father Tells His Son: 'God Has Destined You for Greatness'], ''[[Christian Broadcasting Network|The Brody File]]'', [[David Brody (correspondent)|David Brody]], July 22, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2015.</ref>
About his political involvements in the 1980s, Cruz reflected, "I was on the state board of the Religious Roundtable, a Christian and Jewish religious organization that worked to elect [[Ronald Reagan]]." At the time, he told his son, "God has destined you for greatness."<ref name="KRiddellWashTimes04272016"/><ref>[http://blogs.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2013/07/22/brody-file-exclusive-ted-cruzs-father-tells-his-son-god.aspx Brody File Exclusive: Ted Cruz’s Father Tells His Son: 'God Has Destined You for Greatness'], ''[[Christian Broadcasting Network|The Brody File]]'', [[David Brody (correspondent)|David Brody]], July 22, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2015.</ref>
Line 42: Line 45:
''[[Salon (website)|Salon]]'' described Cruz as a "[[Dominion Theology|Dominionist]], devoted to a movement that finds in Genesis a mandate that 'men of faith' seize control of public institutions and govern by biblical principle."<ref>{{cite web|author1=Lou Dubose|author2=Hannah Harper|title=Ted Cruz's dad has a very sketchy resume: Rafael Cruz's credentials are exaggerated, at best |url=http://www.salon.com/2015/10/19/ted_cruzs_dad_has_a_very_sketchy_resume_rafael_cruzs_credentials_are_exaggerated_at_best/|website=[[Salon (website)|Salon]] |access-date=November 30, 2015 |date=October 19, 2015}}</ref>
''[[Salon (website)|Salon]]'' described Cruz as a "[[Dominion Theology|Dominionist]], devoted to a movement that finds in Genesis a mandate that 'men of faith' seize control of public institutions and govern by biblical principle."<ref>{{cite web|author1=Lou Dubose|author2=Hannah Harper|title=Ted Cruz's dad has a very sketchy resume: Rafael Cruz's credentials are exaggerated, at best |url=http://www.salon.com/2015/10/19/ted_cruzs_dad_has_a_very_sketchy_resume_rafael_cruzs_credentials_are_exaggerated_at_best/|website=[[Salon (website)|Salon]] |access-date=November 30, 2015 |date=October 19, 2015}}</ref>


Cruz was involved with his son's 2016 presidential campaign, playing what ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' described as "a crucial&mdash;if sometimes divisive&mdash;element of the Texas senator’s campaign to win over conservative Christian voters."<ref name="Jan">Tracy Jan, [https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2016/01/26/ted-cruz-father-controversial-evangelical-pastor-gives-him-edge-among-conservative-christians/wEE1dABvOiW5XQrRqBFuQN/story.html Ted Cruz's father gives him edge among conservative Christians], ''Boston Globe'' (January 27, 2016).</ref> Also his son's presidential primary opponent, [[Donald Trump]] accused Cruz's father of involvement with [[John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories|John F. Kennedy's assassination]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/05/trump-ted-cruz-father-222730|title = Trump accuses Cruz's father of helping JFK's assassin}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/19/us/politics/ted-cruz-mexico.html?action=click&algo=bandit-all-surfaces&block=more_in_recirc&fellback=false&imp_id=643033411&impression_id=4b3cd3e1-7516-11eb-838e-e7ebeb6dea56&index=1&pgtype=Article&region=footer&req_id=339857439&surface=more-in-politics&variant=5_bandit-all-surfaces|title=How Ted Cruz Became the Least Sympathetic Politician in America|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 19, 2021|last1=Lerer|first1=Lisa}}</ref> During the campaign, Cruz underwent emergency eye surgery, but returned to campaigning after several weeks' recovery.<ref name="Jan"/>
Cruz was involved with his son's 2016 presidential campaign, playing what ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' described as "a crucial&mdash;if sometimes divisive&mdash;element of the Texas senator's campaign to win over conservative Christian voters."<ref name="Jan">Tracy Jan, [https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2016/01/26/ted-cruz-father-controversial-evangelical-pastor-gives-him-edge-among-conservative-christians/wEE1dABvOiW5XQrRqBFuQN/story.html Ted Cruz's father gives him edge among conservative Christians], ''Boston Globe'' (January 27, 2016).</ref> Also his son's presidential primary opponent, [[Donald Trump]] falsely accused Cruz's father of involvement with [[John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories|John F. Kennedy's assassination]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/05/trump-ted-cruz-father-222730|title = Trump accuses Cruz's father of helping JFK's assassin| website=[[Politico]] }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/19/us/politics/ted-cruz-mexico.html?action=click&algo=bandit-all-surfaces&block=more_in_recirc&fellback=false&imp_id=643033411&impression_id=4b3cd3e1-7516-11eb-838e-e7ebeb6dea56&index=1&pgtype=Article&region=footer&req_id=339857439&surface=more-in-politics&variant=5_bandit-all-surfaces|title=How Ted Cruz Became the Least Sympathetic Politician in America|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 19, 2021|last1=Lerer|first1=Lisa}}</ref> During the campaign, Cruz underwent emergency eye surgery, but returned to campaigning after several weeks' recovery.<ref name="Jan"/>


Cruz has encouraged Christians to vote, claiming that Christians who say “God is fully in control” are “hyper-[[Calvinist]]”.<ref>https://www.christianpost.com/news/god-is-in-control-is-a-cop-out-says-pastor-rafael-cruz.html</ref>
On Labor Day 2015, Cruz was hosted at the annual "[[Turning Hearts]]" celebration in [[Kalona, Iowa|Kalona]], [[Iowa]], by the Bontrager Family Singers, a [[Gospel music|gospel]] and [[Bluegrass music|bluegrass]] group which became active in the ongoing Ted Cruz presidential campaign.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bontragerfamilysingers.com/events.html|title=Events: 14th Annual Turning Hearts Celebration|publisher=bontragerfamilysingers.com|access-date=April 30, 2016}}</ref>


== Personal life ==
== Personal life ==
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2021}}
{{BLP sources section|date=June 2021}}
In 1959, at 20 years of age, Cruz married Julia Ann Garza. (August 22, 1939 – May 18, 2013<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://obituaries.heraldbanner.com/obituary/dr-cruz-741948942 |work=[[Herald-Banner]] |title=Dr. Cruz |date=20 May 2013 |access-date=25 November 2015 |quote=Dr. Julia G. Cruz, 73, retired professor of linguistics and Latin American literature, passed from this life on May 18, 2013, in her home}}</ref>). Per Cruz, they divorced some time in 1963. Julia later became a professor of linguistics and Latin American literature at [[California State University, Stanislaus]]. They had two daughters, Miriam Cruz (1961–2011)<ref name=Recio>{{cite news |last=Recio |first=Maria |title=Ted Cruz's family story: Poignant but incomplete |date=1 April 2015 |access-date=25 November 2015 |publisher= [[The McClatchy Company|McClatchyDC]] |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article24782596.html |quote=Cruz, 44, had two half-sisters from his father’s earlier marriage. One, Miriam Cruz, died in 2011 at age 49 .. The other half-sister, Roxana Cruz, 52, is a medical doctor .. Alan Wilson said he and Eleanor Wilson were being treated in the same hospital when she was pregnant when a nurse told his “his wife” was there — startling the Fort Worthian. “I didn’t know she was pregnant. We were definitely divorced.” Asked what went wrong, he said, “Marriages don’t always work. It wasn’t because of infidelities or anything like that.” He said they were divorced around 1963 .. Although Cruz in his book cites 1965 for Michael Wilson’s birth and death, London records obtained by the Star-Telegram show that a Michael Wilson was born and died in 1966 and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery in [[Kensington]], a London neighborhood .. Eleanor Wilson left England sometime after the death of Michael and returned to the United States, where she met Rafael Cruz, whom she married in 1969.}} (updated February 23, 2016)</ref> and Roxana Cruz (born November 18, 1962), who is a physician.<ref name=Kroll>{{cite news |url=http://www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/2015/06/26/ted-cruzs-secret-weapon-win-right |title=Ted Cruz's Secret Weapon to Win the Right |work=[[National Journal]] |first=Andy |last=Kroll |date=27 June 2015 |access-date=11 November 2015 }}</ref><ref name="TimeTruthCruz"/> He has three grandchildren.<ref name=CostaNatlRev08282013/><ref name="TimeTruthCruz">{{cite book|last= Cruz |first= Ted |author-link= Ted Cruz |title= A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America |date= June 30, 2015 |publisher= [[HarperCollins|Broadside Books]] |isbn= 978-0062365613 |pages= 28–44, 101–103}}</ref>
In 1959, at age 20, Cruz married Julia Ann Garza (August 22, 1939 – May 18, 2013<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://obituaries.heraldbanner.com/obituary/dr-cruz-741948942 |work=[[Herald-Banner]] |title=Dr. Cruz |date=20 May 2013 |access-date=25 November 2015 |quote=Dr. Julia G. Cruz, 73, retired professor of linguistics and Latin American literature, passed from this life on May 18, 2013, in her home}}</ref>). Per Cruz, they divorced some time in 1963. Julia later became a professor of linguistics and Latin American literature at [[California State University, Stanislaus]]. They had two daughters, Miriam Cruz (1961–2011)<ref name=Recio>{{cite news |last=Recio |first=Maria |title=Ted Cruz's family story: Poignant but incomplete |date=1 April 2015 |access-date=25 November 2015 |publisher= [[The McClatchy Company|McClatchyDC]] |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article24782596.html |quote=Cruz, 44, had two half-sisters from his father’s earlier marriage. One, Miriam Cruz, died in 2011 at age 49 .. The other half-sister, Roxana Cruz, 52, is a medical doctor .. Alan Wilson said he and Eleanor Wilson were being treated in the same hospital when she was pregnant when a nurse told his “his wife” was there — startling the Fort Worthian. “I didn’t know she was pregnant. We were definitely divorced.” Asked what went wrong, he said, “Marriages don’t always work. It wasn’t because of infidelities or anything like that.” He said they were divorced around 1963 .. Although Cruz in his book cites 1965 for Michael Wilson’s birth and death, London records obtained by the Star-Telegram show that a Michael Wilson was born and died in 1966 and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery in [[Kensington]], a London neighborhood .. Eleanor Wilson left England sometime after the death of Michael and returned to the United States, where she met Rafael Cruz, whom she married in 1969.}} (updated February 23, 2016)</ref> and Roxana Cruz (born November 18, 1962), who is a physician.<ref name=Kroll>{{cite news |url=http://www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/2015/06/26/ted-cruzs-secret-weapon-win-right |title=Ted Cruz's Secret Weapon to Win the Right |work=[[National Journal]] |first=Andy |last=Kroll |date=27 June 2015 |access-date=11 November 2015 }}</ref><ref name="TimeTruthCruz"/> He has three grandchildren.<ref name=CostaNatlRev08282013/><ref name="TimeTruthCruz">{{cite book|last= Cruz |first= Ted |author-link= Ted Cruz |title= A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America |date= June 30, 2015 |publisher= [[HarperCollins|Broadside Books]] |isbn= 978-0062365613 |pages= 28–44, 101–103}}</ref>


In 2005 Cruz renounced his Canadian citizenship to become a [[Naturalization|naturalized]] U.S. citizen. Cruz now retains only Cuban and American citizenships.<ref name=CostaNatlRev08282013>{{cite journal|last=Costa |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Costa (journalist) |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/356934/rise-rafael-cruz-robert-costa |title=The Rise of Rafael Cruz - Senator Ted Cruz's father is a conservative force. |journal=[[National Review]] |date=28 August 2013 |access-date=12 April 2016 |quote=In the early 1960s, Rafael Cruz was also beginning to start a family. He married and had two daughters, and he started to work in the energy industry. But the marriage ended after only a few years, and Cruz found himself at a difficult crossroads in his late twenties. (One of his daughters is now a physician in Texas; the other is deceased.) Cruz decided to move to New Orleans to take a new job, which is where he met his second wife, Eleanor Darragh, a computer programmer from Delaware, who was also working for an oil company. They married, moved to Calgary, Alberta, and in late 1970 had their first and only child, Rafael Edward Cruz.}}</ref><ref name=OlsenHousChron10132012>{{cite news|title=Cruz's life defies simplification|author=Olsen, Lise|url=http://www.chron.com/news/politics/article/Cruz-s-life-defies-simplification-3946523.php|newspaper=[[Houston Chronicle]]|date=October 13, 2012|quote=The ex-revolutionary pastor regularly stumps for his son, whom he's compared to the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah – a relentless advocate with "fire in his bones." Ted, he says, is "not going to Washington to compromise."|access-date=August 28, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Swartz |first=Mimi |date=March 31, 2015 |title=Ted Cruz and the New Politics of Texas |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/31/opinion/ted-cruz-and-the-new-politics-of-texas.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |location=New York |access-date=April 17, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#tbm=bks&q=Her+parents+were+Irish+and+Italian.+In+the+late+1800s%2C+my+grandmother%27s+father%2C+Dominic+Ciccini%2C+came+to+America+from+Naples%2C+Italy%2C+as+a+teenager.+|title=Google}}</ref>
In 2005, Cruz renounced his Canadian citizenship to become a [[Naturalization|naturalized]] U.S. citizen. Cruz now retains only Cuban and American citizenships.<ref name=CostaNatlRev08282013>{{cite journal|last=Costa |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Costa (journalist) |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/356934/rise-rafael-cruz-robert-costa |title=The Rise of Rafael Cruz - Senator Ted Cruz's father is a conservative force. |journal=[[National Review]] |date=28 August 2013 |access-date=12 April 2016 |quote=In the early 1960s, Rafael Cruz was also beginning to start a family. He married and had two daughters, and he started to work in the energy industry. But the marriage ended after only a few years, and Cruz found himself at a difficult crossroads in his late twenties. (One of his daughters is now a physician in Texas; the other is deceased.) Cruz decided to move to New Orleans to take a new job, which is where he met his second wife, Eleanor Darragh, a computer programmer from Delaware, who was also working for an oil company. They married, moved to Calgary, Alberta, and in late 1970 had their first and only child, Rafael Edward Cruz.}}</ref><ref name=OlsenHousChron10132012>{{cite news|title=Cruz's life defies simplification|author=Olsen, Lise|url=http://www.chron.com/news/politics/article/Cruz-s-life-defies-simplification-3946523.php|newspaper=[[Houston Chronicle]]|date=October 13, 2012|quote=The ex-revolutionary pastor regularly stumps for his son, whom he's compared to the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah – a relentless advocate with "fire in his bones." Ted, he says, is "not going to Washington to compromise."|access-date=August 28, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Swartz |first=Mimi |date=March 31, 2015 |title=Ted Cruz and the New Politics of Texas |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/31/opinion/ted-cruz-and-the-new-politics-of-texas.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |location=New York |access-date=April 17, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#tbm=bks&q=Her+parents+were+Irish+and+Italian.+In+the+late+1800s%2C+my+grandmother%27s+father%2C+Dominic+Ciccini%2C+came+to+America+from+Naples%2C+Italy%2C+as+a+teenager.+|title=Google}}</ref>


From 1993 to 2009, Cruz was a top salesman for [[Mannatech]].<ref name="salonRC">{{cite web|last1=Dubose|first1=Lou|last2=Harper|first2=Hannah|title=Ted Cruz's dad has a very sketchy resume: Rafael Cruz's credentials are exaggerated, at best |work=[[Salon (website)|Salon]]|date=October 19, 2015|url=https://www.salon.com/2015/10/19/ted_cruzs_dad_has_a_very_sketchy_resume_rafael_cruzs_credentials_are_exaggerated_at_best/|access-date =April 30, 2016}}</ref><ref name=Twohey />
From 1993 to 2009, Cruz was a top salesman for [[Mannatech]].<ref name="salonRC">{{cite web|last1=Dubose|first1=Lou|last2=Harper|first2=Hannah|title=Ted Cruz's dad has a very sketchy resume: Rafael Cruz's credentials are exaggerated, at best |work=[[Salon (website)|Salon]]|date=October 19, 2015|url=https://www.salon.com/2015/10/19/ted_cruzs_dad_has_a_very_sketchy_resume_rafael_cruzs_credentials_are_exaggerated_at_best/|access-date =April 30, 2016}}</ref><ref name=Twohey />

== See also ==
* [[Seven Mountain Mandate]]


== References ==
== References ==
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[[Category:21st-century evangelicals]]
[[Category:American Christian clergy]]
[[Category:American evangelicals]]
[[Category:American evangelicals]]
[[Category:American Protestant ministers and clergy]]
[[Category:American people of Canarian descent]]
[[Category:Dominion theology]]
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[[Category:American politicians of Cuban descent]]
[[Category:American politicians of Cuban descent]]
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[[Category:Converts to evangelical Christianity from Roman Catholicism]]
[[Category:Cuban emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Cuban emigrants to the United States]]
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[[Category:Cuban people of Canarian descent]]
[[Category:Former Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Dominion theology]]
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[[Category:People associated with direct selling]]
[[Category:People from Calgary]]
[[Category:People from Calgary]]
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[[Category:Clergy from Houston]]
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[[Category:People from Matanzas]]
[[Category:People of the Cuban Revolution]]
[[Category:People of the Cuban Revolution]]
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[[Category:Ted Cruz]]
[[Category:Ted Cruz]]
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[[Category:Texas Republicans]]
[[Category:University of Texas alumni]]
[[Category:University of Texas alumni]]
[[Category:People associated with direct selling]]
[[Category:Latino conservatism in the United States]]

Latest revision as of 23:22, 2 December 2024

For his son, see Ted Cruz. For other people, see Rafael Cruz (disambiguation).
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Cruz and the second or maternal family name is Díaz.

Rafael Cruz
Cruz speaking at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in 2015
Born
Rafael Bienvenido Cruz y Díaz

(1939-03-22) March 22, 1939 (age 85)
Matanzas, Cuba
NationalityCuban (1939–present)[1]
Canadian (1973–2005)
American (2005–present)
EducationUniversity of Santiago de Cuba
University of Texas, Austin (BS)
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
Julia Garza
​
​
(m. 1959; div. 1963)​
Eleanor Darragh Wilson
​
​
(m. 1969; div. 1997)​
Children3, including Ted

Rafael Bienvenido Cruz y Díaz (born March 22, 1939)[2] is a Cuban-American evangelical preacher and the father of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz. He has served as a surrogate in his son's political campaigns.[3][4]

Early life

[edit]

Cruz was born in Matanzas, Cuba, in 1939. His father, also named Rafael Cruz, was a salesman for RCA, originally from the Canary Islands, Spain. His mother, Emilia Laudelina Díaz, was a teacher.[5][6]

Cruz attended Arturo Echemendia primary school in Matanzas.[7] He said he joined the Cuban Revolution as a teenager and "suffered beatings and imprisonment for protesting the oppressive regime" of dictator Fulgencio Batista, although an extensive search by the New York Times found no evidence for his claims.[5][7][8][9][10] In September 1956 at age 17, Cruz enrolled at the University of Santiago.[7] According to Cruz, as a teenager, he "didn't know Castro was a Communist".[11] Cruz has stated in interviews that he was jailed by Batista for several days in June or July 1957 and after he was released he applied to and was accepted by the University of Texas (UT) in August 1957. He obtained a student visa[12] after an attorney for the family bribed a Batista official to grant him an exit permit.[1][3][13] Cruz said he left with $100 sewn into his underwear, taking a two-day bus ride from Florida, arriving with little or no English to enroll at the University of Texas.[14][15]

He graduated from UT with a degree in mathematics and chemical engineering in 1961.[9][12] Cruz states he worked his way through college as a dishwasher, making 50 cents an hour and learned English by going to movies.[14][16] Upon returning he revisited the same groups to give lectures opposing Castro and the Revolution.[12] Cruz recounts that his younger sister fought against the new regime in the counter-revolution and was consequently tortured. He remained regretful for his early support of Castro and expressed his remorse to his son on numerous occasions.[5][10]

After Cruz graduated, he was granted political asylum in the United States following the expiration of his student visa.[1] In his late twenties, Cruz moved to New Orleans. In 1969 at age 30, during his employment at his new oil company job, he met Wilmington, Delaware, native and divorcée, Eleanor Elizabeth Wilson[17] (born November 23, 1934, as Eleanor Darragh).[18] Eleanor's first marriage, at age 21, was to Alan Wilson, a mathematician, in 1956. The couple moved to London, England, for career opportunities in 1960. They divorced in 1963. The then 31-year-old computer programmer returned to the United States in 1966.[19][20] Cruz and Wilson were married in 1969,[20] and shortly after were sent to Calgary, Canada, where their only child, Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz, was born on December 22, 1970.[21] While in Calgary, the couple owned a seismic-data processing firm called R.B. Cruz and Associates that provided services for oil drillers. The firm later became Veritas and ultimately part of CGG. Cruz earned Canadian citizenship in 1973.[22] The family of three then moved to Houston, Texas.[5][9] Eleanor and Rafael Cruz divorced in 1997.[1][20][23]

Religious and political beliefs

[edit]
Cruz speaking at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Oklahoma City (2015)

Cruz left the Catholic Church in 1975 and became an Evangelical Protestant after attending a Bible study with a colleague and having a born again experience. Explaining his leaving the Catholic church, Cruz stated in an interview with National Review, "The people at the Bible study had a peace that I could not understand, this peace in the midst of trouble. I knew I needed to find that peace by finding Jesus Christ." Following his conversion, his son and wife also became born-again Protestants. In the Cruz home, talk at dinner time was frequently about the Bible.[5] He was ordained as a pastor in 2004.[24]

Cruz works from his home in Carrollton, a suburb of Dallas, as a traveling preacher[25][26] and public speaker, campaigning as a surrogate for his son during the 2016 presidential campaign season.[14][27] In a 2014 Associated Press story, Cruz was quoted as saying, "I have a burden for this country and I feel that we cannot sit silent." He went on to say that he feels "It's time we stop being politically correct and start being biblically correct."[27][28][29]

About his political involvements in the 1980s, Cruz reflected, "I was on the state board of the Religious Roundtable, a Christian and Jewish religious organization that worked to elect Ronald Reagan." At the time, he told his son, "God has destined you for greatness."[14][30]

At the New Beginnings Church in Irving, Texas, in August 2012, Cruz delivered a sermon where he described his son's senatorial campaign as taking place within a context where Christian "kings" were anointed to preside over an "end-time transfer of wealth" from wicked people to the righteous. Cruz urged the congregation to "tithe mightily" to achieve that result.[31] During an interview conducted by The Christian Post in 2014, Cruz stated, "I think we cannot separate politics and religion; they are interrelated. They've always been interrelated."[32] Salon described Cruz as a "Dominionist, devoted to a movement that finds in Genesis a mandate that 'men of faith' seize control of public institutions and govern by biblical principle."[33]

Cruz was involved with his son's 2016 presidential campaign, playing what The Boston Globe described as "a crucial—if sometimes divisive—element of the Texas senator's campaign to win over conservative Christian voters."[34] Also his son's presidential primary opponent, Donald Trump falsely accused Cruz's father of involvement with John F. Kennedy's assassination.[35][36] During the campaign, Cruz underwent emergency eye surgery, but returned to campaigning after several weeks' recovery.[34]

Cruz has encouraged Christians to vote, claiming that Christians who say “God is fully in control” are “hyper-Calvinist”.[37]

Personal life

[edit]

In 1959, at age 20, Cruz married Julia Ann Garza (August 22, 1939 – May 18, 2013[38]). Per Cruz, they divorced some time in 1963. Julia later became a professor of linguistics and Latin American literature at California State University, Stanislaus. They had two daughters, Miriam Cruz (1961–2011)[20] and Roxana Cruz (born November 18, 1962), who is a physician.[25][39] He has three grandchildren.[5][39]

In 2005, Cruz renounced his Canadian citizenship to become a naturalized U.S. citizen. Cruz now retains only Cuban and American citizenships.[5][26][40][41]

From 1993 to 2009, Cruz was a top salesman for Mannatech.[42][24]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Welna, David (June 20, 2013). "How Ted Cruz's Father Shaped His Views On Immigration". NPR.
  2. ^ Cruz, Ted (June 30, 2015). A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780062365637.
  3. ^ a b Bailey, Holly (October 27, 2015). "Meet Rafael Cruz: Ted Cruz's secret evangelical weapon". Yahoo! Politics. Yahoo!. Retrieved December 4, 2015. One of his son's closest advisers and confidants, Cruz is a tireless surrogate ...
  4. ^ Hook, Janet (June 21, 2015). "Ted Cruz's Father Fires Up Campaign Rhetoric". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Costa, Robert (August 28, 2013). "The Rise of Rafael Cruz - Senator Ted Cruz's father is a conservative force". National Review. Retrieved April 12, 2016. In the early 1960s, Rafael Cruz was also beginning to start a family. He married and had two daughters, and he started to work in the energy industry. But the marriage ended after only a few years, and Cruz found himself at a difficult crossroads in his late twenties. (One of his daughters is now a physician in Texas; the other is deceased.) Cruz decided to move to New Orleans to take a new job, which is where he met his second wife, Eleanor Darragh, a computer programmer from Delaware, who was also working for an oil company. They married, moved to Calgary, Alberta, and in late 1970 had their first and only child, Rafael Edward Cruz.
  6. ^ Smolenyak, Megan (January 8, 2016). "Ted Cruz and the Question of 'Natural Born' Citizenship". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  7. ^ a b c Horowitz, Jason (November 9, 2015). "Cuban Peers Dispute Ted Cruz's Father's Story of Fighting for Castro". The New York Times. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  8. ^ 4 Rising stars from the Democratic, Republican conventions, The Christian Post, Napp Nazworth, September 10, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  9. ^ a b c Garrett, Robert T. (April 28, 2012). "Senate candidate Ted Cruz aims to pick up mantle of Reagan". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  10. ^ a b Lizza, Ryan (November 19, 2012). "The Party Next Time". The New Yorker. pp. 50–57. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  11. ^ Liptak, Kevin (August 12, 2013). "Sen. Ted Cruz's dad makes fiery anti-Obama speech". CNN. Archived from the original on August 26, 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  12. ^ a b c "Exile and the Revolution". National Review Online. November 4, 2011. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  13. ^ "Ted Cruz for US Senate - Bio". Ted Cruz. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  14. ^ a b c d Riddell, Kelly (April 27, 2016). "Rafael Cruz finds success on speaking circuit as son runs for president". The Washington Times. Washington, DC. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  15. ^ How Ted Cruz's dad, Rafael, became a GOP rock star, D Magazine, Michael J. Mooney, January 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  16. ^ Breanna Edwards (June 20, 2013). "Cruz's dad: Bribe helped to exit Cuba". Politico. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  17. ^ Gillman, Todd (August 19, 2013). "Ted Cruz birth certificate. Canadian citizenship questionnaire". The Dallas Morning News. Cruz was kind enough to release a copy of his Canadian birth certificate
  18. ^ Flores, Reena (January 9, 2016). "Ted Cruz releases mother's birth certificate amid citizenship debate". CBS News. The document shows that Eleanor Darragh, Cruz's mother, was born in the state of Delaware on Nov. 23, 1934
  19. ^ Cruz, Ted (2015). A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America. In 1956, my mom married her first husband, a mathematician named Alan Wilson," Cruz wrote. The couple moved to London in 1960
  20. ^ a b c d Recio, Maria (April 1, 2015). "Ted Cruz's family story: Poignant but incomplete". McClatchyDC. Retrieved November 25, 2015. Cruz, 44, had two half-sisters from his father's earlier marriage. One, Miriam Cruz, died in 2011 at age 49 .. The other half-sister, Roxana Cruz, 52, is a medical doctor .. Alan Wilson said he and Eleanor Wilson were being treated in the same hospital when she was pregnant when a nurse told his "his wife" was there — startling the Fort Worthian. "I didn't know she was pregnant. We were definitely divorced." Asked what went wrong, he said, "Marriages don't always work. It wasn't because of infidelities or anything like that." He said they were divorced around 1963 .. Although Cruz in his book cites 1965 for Michael Wilson's birth and death, London records obtained by the Star-Telegram show that a Michael Wilson was born and died in 1966 and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery in Kensington, a London neighborhood .. Eleanor Wilson left England sometime after the death of Michael and returned to the United States, where she met Rafael Cruz, whom she married in 1969. (updated February 23, 2016)
  21. ^ Ferguson, John Wayne (August 13, 2012). "Texplainer: Could Canadian-Born Ted Cruz Be President?". Texas Tribune. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
  22. ^ Abel, Allen; Markusoff, Jason (January 13, 2016). "Ted Cruz: Made in Canada". Maclean's Magazine. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  23. ^ Gillman, Todd J. (August 18, 2013). "Canada-born Ted Cruz became a citizen of that country as well as U.S." The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on August 19, 2013. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
  24. ^ a b Ted Cruz’s Father Worked With Supplements Maker Sued by Investors, New York Times, MeganTwohey, April 29, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  25. ^ a b Kroll, Andy (June 27, 2015). "Ted Cruz's Secret Weapon to Win the Right". National Journal. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  26. ^ a b Olsen, Lise (October 13, 2012). "Cruz's life defies simplification". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 28, 2013. The ex-revolutionary pastor regularly stumps for his son, whom he's compared to the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah – a relentless advocate with "fire in his bones." Ted, he says, is "not going to Washington to compromise."
  27. ^ a b Will Weissert (February 9, 2014). "Rafael Cruz, Ted Cruz's Father, Emerges As Outspoken Surrogate For His Son". Associated Press via The Huffington Post. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  28. ^ Jones, Russ (October 6, 2015). "Christians Need to Be Politically Active Says Father of Sen. Ted Cruz". Christian Press. Oxford, Mississippi. Retrieved February 2, 2016. Rafael Cruz, father of US Senator Ted Cruz, pastor of a Dallas church and director of North Texas-based Purifying Fire Ministries, said Christians need to be bold speakers for the truth of God and call upon God's people to be salt and light in the culture.
  29. ^ "Senator Ted Cruz and Pastor Rafael Cruz". The Family Leadership Summit. The Family Leader. July 18, 2015. Archived from the original on January 16, 2016. Retrieved February 2, 2016. Today Rafael Cruz is a pastor at a church in Dallas
  30. ^ Brody File Exclusive: Ted Cruz’s Father Tells His Son: 'God Has Destined You for Greatness', The Brody File, David Brody, July 22, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  31. ^ "WATCH: Ted Cruz's Dad Calls US a 'Christian Nation', Says Obama Should Go 'Back to Kenya' Want to understand where the tea party champion's hardcore views come from? Meet his father, Rafael.", Mother Jones, David Corn, October 31, 2013. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  32. ^ Michael Gryboski (May 23, 2014). "Pastor Rafael Cruz: Religion and Politics 'Interrelated'; US Comparable to Ancient Israel". The Christian Post - CP Politics. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  33. ^ Lou Dubose; Hannah Harper (October 19, 2015). "Ted Cruz's dad has a very sketchy resume: Rafael Cruz's credentials are exaggerated, at best". Salon. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  34. ^ a b Tracy Jan, Ted Cruz's father gives him edge among conservative Christians, Boston Globe (January 27, 2016).
  35. ^ "Trump accuses Cruz's father of helping JFK's assassin". Politico.
  36. ^ Lerer, Lisa (February 19, 2021). "How Ted Cruz Became the Least Sympathetic Politician in America". The New York Times.
  37. ^ https://www.christianpost.com/news/god-is-in-control-is-a-cop-out-says-pastor-rafael-cruz.html
  38. ^ "Dr. Cruz". Herald-Banner. May 20, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2015. Dr. Julia G. Cruz, 73, retired professor of linguistics and Latin American literature, passed from this life on May 18, 2013, in her home
  39. ^ a b Cruz, Ted (June 30, 2015). A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America. Broadside Books. pp. 28–44, 101–103. ISBN 978-0062365613.
  40. ^ Swartz, Mimi (March 31, 2015). "Ted Cruz and the New Politics of Texas". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  41. ^ "Google".
  42. ^ Dubose, Lou; Harper, Hannah (October 19, 2015). "Ted Cruz's dad has a very sketchy resume: Rafael Cruz's credentials are exaggerated, at best". Salon. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
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