ADVERTISEMENT

Late leader's ashes reunited with 'Che' Guevara

Guevara won a crucial battle in Santa Clara in 1958, derailing an armored train and taking the city.

The urn with the ashes of Cuban leader Fidel Castro is driven through Santa Clara, Cuba, on December 1, 2016 during its four-day journey across the island for the burial in Santiago de Cuba

After two days of tributes in Havana, hundreds of thousands of flag-waving Cubans lined the streets to bid farewell as a military jeep began a four-day journey on Wednesday morning with the cedar urn in tow.

Crowds chanted "I am Fidel!" as the convoy started retracing the victory tour that Castro's guerrilla took in 1959 to celebrate their defeat of US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.

The flag-covered urn, which rested under a glass case on a small olive-green trailer, arrived in Santa Clara after midnight and entered a complex with a mausoleum and museum dedicated to Guevara.

ADVERTISEMENT

"It's a historic meeting, two comandantes who change the history of Cuba and humanity," said Agnier Sanchez, a 33-year-old medical imaging technician.

A somber guitar, song and dance show played across a giant statue of Guevara as the "caravan of freedom" paused a third of the way into its 950-kilometer (590-mile) trek across the island.

The convoy will resume on Thursday morning, heading to other cities before a final ceremony on Sunday in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba, where Castro's ashes will be laid to rest next to 19th century independence hero Jose Marti.

Cubans were observing the fifth of nine days of mourning for Castro following his death on Friday at age 90. Castro ruled from 1959 until an illness forced him to hand power to his brother Raul in 2006.

Dissidents call Castro a dictator who jailed opponents but others in Cuba praise his legacy of providing free education and health care to Cubans while defying the US "empire."

ADVERTISEMENT

"I come from a poor family. I am black. In another era, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to be who I am today," said Maria Gonzalez, a 31-year-old computer engineer.

Che Guevara

Castro met Guevara in 1955 while in exile in Mexico, and the young doctor joined Fidel and Raul on the boat that took them to Cuba a year later.

Guevara was given high-ranking positions in the government but he left in 1966 to lead a guerrilla expedition in Bolivia, where he was captured and executed a year later.

His remains were recovered three decades later and taken to Santa Clara, now home to a huge statute of Che and a museum dedicated to the revolutionary icon.

ADVERTISEMENT

"His death seemed like something incredible to me. In fact, I don't know, something that one can never get used to," Fidel Castro once told a Spanish journalist, admitting that he occasionally had dreams in which he spoke with Guevara.

Uncertain future

As the country ponders its future without Fidel Castro, attention is turning toward Raul and whether he will undertake deeper economic reforms after enacting modest changes in recent years.

The 85-year-old general, who has vowed to step down in 2018, has also restored diplomatic relations with his brother's eternal enemy, the United States.

"If Fidel's death results in reforms in Cuba speeding up a little, the rapprochement with the United States could be energized," said Michael Shifter, president of the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue think tank.

ADVERTISEMENT

jpegMpeg4-1280x720"It's an opportunity to strengthen bilateral relations, but a lot will depend on what happens within the Cuban government," he said.

US President-elect Donald Trump threatened this week to halt the detente that was begun by US President Barack Obama if the Castro government doesn't offer a "better deal" to the Cuban people.

Obama did not join other foreign leaders at a massive rally for Fidel Castro in Havana on Tuesday, instead sending aides as the White House voiced concerns about the human rights situation in Cuba.

Along the caravan's route, Fidel Castro's supporters were confident that his revolution would go on.

"Cuba won't change," said Jany de la Caridad, 20, who had the face of a young Fidel painted on her face. "Look at all these people waiting for hours for Fidel's ashes.

ADVERTISEMENT

"You think that Cuba will deviate from its socialist path with the death of one man -- even if it was commander in chief Fidel Castro?"

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

Unblock notifications in browser settings.
ADVERTISEMENT

Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng

Recommended articles

You can go to prison for 7 years in Nigeria for using underage housemaids

You can go to prison for 7 years in Nigeria for using underage housemaids

Peter Obi explains why he joined Muslims to break fast in Abuja mosque

Peter Obi explains why he joined Muslims to break fast in Abuja mosque

Plateau commission demands justice for rape and murder of 9-year-old girl

Plateau commission demands justice for rape and murder of 9-year-old girl

Peter Obi breaking fast with Muslims in Abuja mosque gets Nigerians talking

Peter Obi breaking fast with Muslims in Abuja mosque gets Nigerians talking

Video of weird school competition shows young students licking one another's feet

Video of weird school competition shows young students licking one another's feet

UniCal records highest number of first class graduates in 49 years

UniCal records highest number of first class graduates in 49 years

Army announces names of 17 soldiers killed in shocking Delta attack

Army announces names of 17 soldiers killed in shocking Delta attack

Ooni wants Ile-Ife, Modakeke indigenes to live together peacefully

Ooni wants Ile-Ife, Modakeke indigenes to live together peacefully

'Politics is not about being negative every time' — Peter Obi

'Politics is not about being negative every time' — Peter Obi

Pulse Sports

Super Eagles Bright Osayi-Samuel punches pitch invader as violence erupts following Trabzonspor vs Fenerbahce

Super Eagles Bright Osayi-Samuel punches pitch invader as violence erupts following Trabzonspor vs Fenerbahce

Naija Stars Abroad: Moffi, Chukwueze battle Oshoala, Echegini for POTW

Naija Stars Abroad: Moffi, Chukwueze battle Oshoala, Echegini for POTW

Report: Super Eagles get new coach for Ghana and Mali clash

Report: Super Eagles get new coach for Ghana and Mali clash

Osimhen misses out on N17b payday after Napoli's UCL loss to Barcelona

Osimhen misses out on N17b payday after Napoli's UCL loss to Barcelona

‘Thank you’ - Osimhen’s girlfriend Stefanie Ladewig grateful for being the mother of his child

‘Thank you’ - Osimhen’s girlfriend Stefanie Ladewig grateful for being the mother of his child

4 reasons why Victor Osimhen should choose Arsenal over Chelsea, Manchester United and PSG

4 reasons why Victor Osimhen should choose Arsenal over Chelsea, Manchester United and PSG

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT