DENVER -- The man taking the reins as Denver’s new mayor spent three years in a Colorado orphanage.

Mayor Guillermo (Bill) Vidal talked about that experience during his inaugural address Wednesday.

Vidal is filling out the rest of John Hickenlooper’s term, now that Hickenlooper has been sworn in as Governor of Colorado.

Vidal, who was born in Cuba, told 7NEWS that he remembers his parents holding him up to shake Fidel Castro’s hand after Castro overthrew the previous dictator, Fulgencio Bautista.

When Castro became a dictator himself and turned the country communist, Vidal’s parents sent him and his two brothers to the United States.

“We met Bobby Kennedy and got to shake his hand,” Vidal said. “It was ironic.”

After meeting Kennedy in Chicago, the Vidal brothers were shipped to the Sacred Heart orphanage in Pueblo.

He wrote about that experience in a book titled "Boxing For Cuba."

“It was like Lord of the Flies,” the Mayor said. “There were a lot of boys.... It was the rule of violence by the toughest of kids.”

Vidal said that experience, being away from his parents for 3 1/2 years, helped prepare him to deal with crisis.

“I have this inner calmness about it,” he said. “I just think that things aren’t as bad as we think they are.”

The new mayor has spent 35 years in public service. He worked with Colorado’s Department of Transportation before serving as the deputy mayor and manager of public works under Hickenlooper.

He remembers his roots.

“I well up with emotion about it,” Vidal said. “I feel like I’m living another life.”

His wife, Gabriela, feels the same way.

“I’m very honored and at the same time humbled,” she told 7NEWS. “For us, it’s a great privilege to be able to give back a little bit to the city that welcomed us.”

Vidal said he wants to focus the next few months on immigration and on job creation.

“I implore all of us,” the mayor said, “whether it is in supporting the DREAM Act or similar legislation, let us work to find a comprehensive immigration solution that resolves the financial and legal concerns, but does so in a humane manner.”

The Mayor also said Denver must remain steadfast in its effort to create new jobs.

“We have a chance to do this between now and July by advancing the numerous design and construction projects that are in the City’s pipeline,” he said. “There are several road and sewer projects, a new Westside Library, a new Lowry Fire Station, a new Police Crime Lab, and an expansion at Denver International Airport to name a few.”

The mayor said the city’s efforts on those projects “may reinvigorate private investment in our city.”

Vidal will serve as mayor for seven months, until a newly elected mayor is sworn in in July.

Vidal told 7NEWS that he has no intention of running for that office in the May election.

“I’ve been working a 24/7 job for decades,” he said. “Gabriela (his wife) and I have been talking about taking about making time for ourselves.”

“We’ve saved our money. We’ve tried to get out of debt and I’ve already postponed our decision by eight months,” Vidal said. “I think it’s difficult to think about postponing it longer than that.”