Cubans line up to farewell revolution leader
Print Edition
CUBANS began lining up five hours in advance of a mass gathering in Havana’s Revolution Square yesterday to commemorate Fidel Castro, the guerrilla leader who led a leftist revolution in 1959 and ruled the Caribbean island for half a century.
Castro died on Friday at the age of 90, a decade after stepping down due to poor health and ceding power to his brother Raul Castro.
“For me, he continues living in the hearts of the Cubans,” said Misleidys Rivero, 47, a service station employee with a small Cuban flag in her hand.
Castro was cremated on Saturday and the government has declared a nine-day period of mourning. His ashes will be carried in a cortege to a final resting place in Santiago de Cuba, the city in eastern Cuba where he launched the revolution.
The government has invited people to Havana’s Revolution Square for a two-day ceremony that started with a thunderous cannon salute that could be heard throughout much of the capital.
People began queuing up as early as 4am to be at the head of one of three lines of mourners entering a square that has been central to Cuba’s recent history, and where Castro gave many of his rousing, lengthy speeches.
Mourners paraded by a photo of a young Castro dressed in military fatiques and gazing into the distance with a rifle and pack slug over his back. A military honor guard and some civilians flanked the photo and an arrangement of white flowers.
Among them was Ana Maria Vazquez, 49, who said she once worked in Castro’s office in the Council of State.
“Fidel was country. He was revolution. But above all Fidel was a man who opened his heart to the people,” said Vazquez, wiping away tears.
Political opponents stayed away or kept quiet, allowing admirers to say goodbye to a man who elevated the island to the world stage during the Cold War by forging a communist-run state just 145 kilometers from Florida in the United States and then resisting Washington’s long efforts to force change.
“He wasn’t perfect. Nobody is,” said Roberto Videax, a 72-year-old pensioner who was nonetheless proud of Castro. “Fidel was a teacher, a patriot.”
The ceremony in the capital will end tonight when foreign leaders are expected to pay their respects.
A cortege will carry Castro’s remains east across the 1,200km-long island to Santiago. His cremated ashes will be laid to rest in the birthplace of the revolution when the mourning period ends on Sunday.
Cuba’s rich variety of music, a soundtrack on the streets of Havana, has been muted since Friday night and the government has also temporarily banned alcohol sales and suspended the professional baseball season.
Some world leaders will be notably absent from Tuesday’s ceremony in Havana.
The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin would not attend as he was preparing for a major speech. His close ally and speaker of the Russian State Duma or lower house of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, would lead the Russian delegation, it said.
And in Japan, Kyodo said a senior lawmaker would head to Cuba in lieu of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
North Korea called for three days of mourning to honor Castro, its state news agency said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
