Articles of death

Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee and President of the Councils of State and Ministers, led the final ceremonial guard honoring Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz at the José Martí Memorial, in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución.

At 8am on Monday, November 28, senior leaders of the Revolution performed a ceremonial guard in honor of Comandante en Jefe of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro Ruz, in the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces’ Granma Hall, where the Comandante’s ashes will remain before being taken to the Santiago de Cuba’s Santa Ifigenia Cemetery.

World leaders began to arrive in Havana, last night, November 28, to join the Cuban people in paying their respects to Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz.Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, was among the first to arrive in Cuba to join the Cuban people and their leaders to bid the Comandante en Jefe a final farewell. “We want to convey our solidarity and be at the side of the Cuban people during these days of farewell to the immortal force of Comandante Fidel Castro. It is strange and difficult to arrive in Cuba and not have him here physically,” adding that Cuba and Venezuela are family,

“This triumph is of great sporting significance, of great psychological significance, of great patriotic significance and of great revolutionary significance.” These were Fidel’s first words on welcoming home the volleyball players who had won gold medals at the 4th North, Central American, and Caribbean Volleyball Championships in Los Angeles, August 1975.

Since early this morning, November 28, Cubans of all ages have been arriving to the José Martí Memorial in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución, to pay their respects to Comandante Fidel Castro and express their commitment to continuing the process of building socialism by signing his conception of Revolution.

The history of Cuba is forever joined to the figure of Fidel Castro, the man who led the most important social revolution in Latin America. Cubans, and many from around the world, have stories, an encounter, a longing, an impression linked to the life of the leader of the Revolution.

Two years, 10 months, and 20 days ago, I saw Fidel for the last time. It wasn’t the only time I was in the same room with him, but yes, it was the first time I was able to see him, hear him, admire him, close up… only a few steps away. It was January 8, 2014, in Romerillo. Being commemorated was the 55th anniversary of the Freedom Caravan’s entrance into Havana, and Alexis Leyva Machado (Kcho) had chosen the historic date for the inauguration of his “project of social utility,” Kcho Estudio Romerillo, Laboratorio para el arte (Laboratory for Art).

Conversations on the different days of the week are a common topic among Cubans; some don’t like Mondays, some say Friday is their favorite day, others that Sundays are boring. Whenever it comes up, I say that my favorite day is Saturday. In my mind and to my senses, Saturday represents the smells and sounds of what I feel to be our Cuban identity.