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During Obama’s historic visit to Cuba on March 20–23, 2016, I was commentating on the event with Cuban colleagues for the Caracas-based teleSUR television network. On the Cuban side, the event was overshadowed by Cuban diplomacy skillfully led, in a complex situation, by President Raúl Castro and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From the Obama A dministration’s perspective, the trip also consisted of diplomacy.
You can learn as much about a man from his critics as you can from his admirers. Henry Kissinger, U.S. secretary of state under Nixon, described Fidel in his memoirs as perhaps the most genuine revolutionary leader in power at that time.
“We Cubans, deeply hurt, will miss him every day, but his enduring example will encourage us to continue on the path, accumulating victories, defending ourselves from the enemy and seeking a better tomorrow for our people and the world.”
It was with deep sorrow and regret that the Cuban people learned of the passing of Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz. Granma shares some reactions to the news. His death was met with tributes and moments of reflection by the Cuban people, who neither want, nor are ready, to say farewell, choosing instead to salute the global leader with a “Hasta siempre, Fidel.”
The fact that a man like Fidel is no longer with us is a difficult reality to bear, stated Artemisa resident and Revolutionary combatant Plácido Núñez, speaking to Granma.
November 25, 2016. As the health of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution deteriorates in Havana, a team of doctors at the Abel Santamaría Hospital’s maternity ward in de Pinar del Río, prepare to bring Fidel Alejandro Acosta Rodríguez into the world.
At that moment his parents still hadn’t chosen a name, but the tragic events that would mark that day compelled them to reach a decision.
From his high school days into the 1950s, Fidel Castro familiarized himself with the writings and activities of José Martí, among other 19th-century Cuban fighters for social justice and independence from Spain. Fidel read all of Marti’s 28 volumes. He also studied the works and practical activities of Marx, Engels and Lenin. He examined and held a deep respect for the Bolshevik Revolution. During this early period of his remarkable autodidactic evolution, he lived and was politically active not only in Cuba but secondarily in other Latin American countries, such as the Dominican Republic.
In January 1959, the Cuban people took to the streets nationwide to welcome the Caravan of Freedom, which has a new connotation today for Cubans, after the inverse journey undertaken by the caravan that carried the ashes of Fidel Castro.
If at the time Cubans celebrated the triumph of the Revolution in every corner of the country, a few weeks ago, they professed the love and respect that Fidel Castro earned.
After Dictator Fulgencio Batista (1952-1959) fled 57 years ago, the guerrilla leader started his trip to the capital.
A year ago, the undefeated Comandante en Jefe of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, left us a testament and a political duty: “working with fervor and dignity, can produce the material and cultural wealth that humans need, and we must fight relentlessly to obtain these.”
Maritza relates every story about Celia as if she had lived it herself. And the beautiful wooden house is her greatest pride, made clear as she recalls the moment Fidel decided that the national museum dedicated to "the most authentic flower of the Revolution" would be established here.
"I heard that the Comandante said: Let it be in Media Luna! Ay, you can't imagine the emotion, hearing that our greatest dream, that these country girls had struggled for, would come true."
Doves are a symbol of candor, simplicity, peace. They have a great sense of direction, are one of the fastest flying birds, and have an acute sense of sight.
As Fidel spoke to the crowds gathered at the Columbia military base, today the Ciudad Libertad educational complex, in Marianao, on January 8, 1959, after his triumphant entry into Havana, white doves landed on his shoulders. He was the bearer of hope and they quickly identified him.
Fidel placed particular emphasis on the development of Cuban culture from the very first, intense years of the Revolution. He is closely linked to the foundation of the most important and renowned cultural institutions of the island.
They say that poets are visionaries, a statement many times proven. The life and work of the historic leader of the Revolution has illustrated this. Take, for example, the poem that Miguel Barnet dedicated to him:
Fidel
It is true that poets
capture life’s moments