at midnight, thousands began to spill onto the streets, forcing police to close down little havana’s major artery, calle ocho. generations of Cubans and cuban Americans were banging on metal pots, smoking cigars, blasting car horns, and waving both cuban and American flags in celebration of the long-anticipated death of the revolutionary leader they knew as “el monstro” (the monster). by daybreak, thousands of cuban exiles continued to wave their flags as they downed cafecitos and coladas while shouting cuba libre! and singing “guantaramera,” a patriotic battle cry comprised of the “simple verses” poetry collection written by the cuban poet jose marti. leading the crowd were many Cuban exiles who suffered horrific human rights abuses, forcing them to flee their beloved homeland to escape Fidel castro’s cruel communist dictatorship. the Masses included political prisoners, members of the alpha 66 paramilitary group, local city politicians, and grandmothers who brought along their grandchildren to witness this historical event. outside the ventanita of the famous cafe Versailles Restaurant, an unofficial town square for the Cuban exile community to freely debate social and political issues, over a thousand people continued to celebrate into the night - to the dismay of many of the children. for many the long-anticipated death of fidel castro not only meant an end to the dictator’s half-century rule, it also carried a hope for the beginning of a new Cuba.

26 de Noviembre 2016, Miami fl