Ten of thousands of Cubans paid last respects to Fidel Castro packing Havana's streets to mourn the fiery revolutionary who built a communist state on the doorstep of the United States and ruled it for five decades.
The two-day public farewell in the Cuban capital began November 28, where crowds stood in lines for hours to pay tribute to the revolutionary leader. Many chanted "Viva Fidel!"
Tens of thousands of Cubans, some wrapped in red, white and blue national flags, paid final respects in Havana on Monday to Fidel Castro.
“Long live Fidel! We can hear him, we can feel him, he'll always be here,” a crowd gathered near Havana's Revolution Square chanted, holding up a banner that read “We are Fidel,” according to Reuters.
The government invited people to the square for a two-day commemoration that started with a 21-gun salute heard throughout much of the capital.
Castro, who died on Friday at the age of 90, was cremated on Saturday and the government has declared a nine-day period of mourning. His ashes will be carried in a cortege to a final resting place in Santiago de Cuba, the city in eastern Cuba where he launched the revolution.
Fidel Castro effectively stepped down for medical reasons in 2006, leaving the running of the country to his brother, Raul Castro.
The man Cubans called “El Comandante” (The Commander) came to power at age 32 when he led a revolution to topple U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.
