Rest in power fidel9/16/2023 ![]() ![]() No representative from the United States attended the memorial or the funeral, despite a thawing in relations with Cuba under President Obama. Presidents from Latin American and African nations paid their respects. Raul Castro, who took over when his older brother fell ill in 2006, spoke at the event and praised Fidel Castro's accomplishments, especially his willingness to stand up to the United States. Raul Castro placed the ashes in a niche in the tomb that was then covered by a plaque bearing the single name,"Fidel."(Marcelino Vazquez Hernandez/Pool Photo via AP) On Saturday night, tens of thousands of people crowded into Antonio Maceo Revolution Square to shout "Yo soy Fidel!", or "I am Fidel!"Ĭuba's President Raul Castro salutes at the tomb of his older brother Fidel Castro, a simple, grey, round stone about 15 feet high, at the Santa Ifigenia cemetery in Santiago, Cuba, Sunday Dec.4, 2016. The private funeral service stood in contrast to the public mourning for Castro. On Sunday morning, they did the same thing as the remains were taken to the cemetery. Starting in Havana in the west, the tour reversed the route Castro took across the island after seizing power in 1959.Ĭrowds of Cubans lined the roads and stood on rooftops to catch a glimpse of Castro's remains, which were carried in a box on a simple trailer and towed by a military Jeep. Santiago is located on the eastern end of Cuba, about 880 kilometers (546 miles) from Havana. ![]() His ashes arrived Saturday in Santiago after a four-day tour across the island nation. The attendees included Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona, Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega, Bolivian president Evo Morales, Congolese president Denis Sassou Nguesso, Ethiopian president Mulatu Teshome, Alfred Marie-Jeanne of Martinique and former Brazilian presidents Luiz Ignacio "Lula" da Silva and Dilma Rousseff.Ĭastro died in Havana on November 25 at age 90. Soto del Valle has rarely been seen in public and most Cubans did not know that Castro, secretive about his personal life, was married and had a large family.Ĭastro's bodyguards, household staff and invited dignitaries laid white roses at the gravesite, state media said. The mausoleum was sealed with a plaque that says simply, "Fidel."Īccording to the Cuban government website Cubadebate, the urn was initially carried by Dalia Soto del Valle, identified by the site as Castro's wife. The three-minute ceremony at Santiago de Cuba's Santa Ifigenia Cemetery ended nine days of public mourning for the charismatic but polarizing revolutionary who led Cuba for half a century.Ĭuban President Raul Castro slid the box of ashes into an opening in the mausoleum, made from a boulder excavated from the town of Las Guásimas, east of Santiago. SANTIAGO, Cuba (CNN) - Fidel Castro's ashes were placed in a granite mausoleum Sunday morning during a private ceremony attended by Castro's little-seen family and a handful of Latin American and African leaders, Cuban state media reported. Reading or replaying the story in itsĪrchived form does not constitute a republication of the story. ![]() About 10 feet tall, the gray/white boulder has only three markings: the black plaque engraved simply with "FIDEL" and two rings on either side holding flowers.Only for your personal, non-commercial use. That means Fidel Castro's lone memorial will be the plain boulder that sits in Santa Ifigenia Cemetery in this eastern city, where Fidel started his schooling and launched his revolution against a U.S.-backed dictator. President Raúl Castro, 85, said he would pass legislation honoring the wishes of his older brother, who passed on power to Raúl after falling ill in 2006. 25 at age 90 and was laid to rest Sunday after nine days of mourning.Ĭastro, who ruled the island for 49 years, asked that no monuments or statues be erected in his honor, and that no streets, parks, plazas or institutions be renamed after him. SANTIAGO DE CUBA - The cemetery holding the ashes of communist leader Fidel Castro opened to the public for the first time Monday morning.Ĭubans and tourists lined up under a scorching sun to get their first glimpse of the simple crypt for Castro, who died Nov. ![]()
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