14ymedio, Havana, 30 December 2016 – Cuban Faces of 2016: His death propelled ex-President Fidel Castro into the headlines of the international press, which had forgotten him since, in July 2006, diverticulitis forced him to leave power. Following the death of the nonagenarian leader, the government of his brother Raul Castro declared nine days of mourning, during which parties, loud music and the sale of alcoholic beverages were banned.
The official television broadcast an extensive and exhausting program with praises to Castro, documentaries about his life, some of his most talked about speeches, and the opinions of his followers and friends. In Miami, Cuban exiles celebrated his death on the streets and social networks were filled with caricatures, jokes and condolences.
In the Plaza of the Revolution in Havana a photo of former President was installed before which thousands of Cubans paid tribute to him, and his ashes, which were guarded for two days at the Ministry of the Armed Forces, subsequently traveled across the island from Havana to the cemetery of Santa Ifigenia in Santiago de Cuba. There they were placed in a stone-like mausoleum near the tomb of José Martí.
