Articles of tribute

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.

Armando Benito Sáez, a journalist from the weekly newspaper 5 de Septiembre in Cienfuegos and secretary of his local Party branch: “The loss is irreparable for our people. The leader has gone, the father, the brother, the friend of all Cubans, who taught us how to love and defend the homeland, above all else. He was a navigational chart, a compass, captain of our country’s voyage toward Socialism.

November 25, 10:29pm, the longest night. It’s a dark time for Cuba and the world. Fidel has died. They tried to kill him over 600 times, without success, because men like Fidel can’t be killed. They die when their time comes, trying to make a quiet exit. There’s silence even amid the deafening noise of the streets.

From all corners of the planet, recognition of the life and work of one of the great leaders of the 20th century and thus far into the 21st – the guerilla in the Sierra Maestra and international statesman who changed forever the history of Latin America and the peoples of the world: Fidel Castro.

Following the death of Comandante en Jefe of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba declares nine days of national mourning, to be observed from 6am on November 26, through 12pm December 4, 2016.