Articles of tribute

After the moving, unforgettable voyage of Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro’s ashes, following the Caravan of Liberty’s route of January, 1959, from Havana east, the valiant people of Santiago, along with representatives of neighboring provinces, will honor the leader of the Cuban Revolution, today, December 3, at 7:00pm, in Antonio Maceo Plaza la Revolución.

Around 12:30pm, the funeral procession bearing the Comandante’s remains entered the heroic city of Santiago de Cuba, through Altos de Quintero, with hundreds lining both sides of the Avenida de las Américas. The people received their leader with a mix of sadness and the determination to defend the Revolution.

Dawn breaks over the Plaza de la Revolución Mayor General Ignacio Agramonte Loynaz, of this city. At seven o’clock in the morning, the funeral procession bearing the remains of the Comandante resumes its journey, in the midst of a sea of people who say their final goodbyes amid tears and grief.

Over the last stretch of the procession’s journey, coming out to honor the eternal Comandante Fidel Castro Ruz by the thousands were the people of Contrameastre and Palma Soriano, where historic events took place during the armed struggle from 1956 through 1959, and throughout the Revolution’s 58 years.

After spending the night in Bayamo, the caravan bearing the ashes of Comadante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz is completing the last stretch of its journey from Havana to Santiago de Cuba.
Last night, December 2, as the Comadante’s remains rested in Ñico López Museum, the people of Bayamo, in the historic province of Granma, held a vigil.

The crowd that awaited Fidel Castro on the morning of January 6, 1959 in and around Serafín Sánchez Park, endured hours standing outside, of false reports, cold and rain, but never experienced the angst and pain of those who gathered there, in the same place, on December 1, 2016, to bid a final farewell to the eternal guerilla, who on the evening of that January 6 scaled the stairs of the old El Progreso Library, and speaking before a microphone positioned on one of its balconies, won the hearts all present.