Cuban exiles celebrate Fidel's death for second night in Miami

Miami, November 27, 2016 (AFP) - Singing and dancing, Cubans from Little Havana in Miami celebrated Fidel Castro's death for the second consecutive night in front of the iconic Café Versailles, which for decades was the meeting place for this community In exile.

The party started at midnight on Friday, lasted all Saturday and was still on Sunday. Although the streets were opened to traffic briefly in the morning in an effort by the authorities to return to normal, they had to be closed in the afternoon, once again.

"I never tire of celebrating, because it seems like a lie. I never thought that moment would come," commented Delsy, who did not want to give his last name.

One couple sang "Guantanamera" with microphone and amplifier, while others marked the rhythm of "La vida es un carnaval" with pans, and a group sang "Fidel, tyrant, take your brother!".

Fidel Castro died Friday night in Havana, at the age of 90, his brother Raul, the current Cuban president, announced.

Fifteen blocks further east, the Ball & Chain salsa nightclub, a classic among the locals and obligatory stop of the tour buses, offered discounts and promoted a new cocktail: "Goodbye Fidel."

The place was crowded on Saturday night. Full of bars and Cuban restaurants, the street was full of life late at night, "far more than usual," according to a restaurant waitress.

In a nearby corner, in front of Parque Domino, where Cuban retirees gather every afternoon to play, the future of the Island was the main topic of discussion.

"Now we, Cubans, have the hope that, without Fidel, his communism will fall and, God willing, we can go back to our free country," said Vicente Abrez, 65.

The continuity of Raul Castro in power does not discourage the anti-Castro who emigrated from the island.

"I do not think it's going to change much, but it's a light at the end of the tunnel, it's something," said Leticia Gallo, a 44-year-old therapist who arrived in Miami with a young child.

Praying for Cuba. At the Hermitage of Caridad del Cobre, the shrine of Cuba's patron saint, the Archbishop of Miami, Thomas Wenski, celebrated an unusually crowded Mass.

"Fidel Castro has died, and now the judgment of God, who is merciful and just, will fit," said the prelate.

"May Santa Maria da Caridade listen to the people and then to Cuba at the time of reconciliation," he added.

Cuban artists also raised their voices. Music producer Emilio Estefan, husband of salsa star Gloria Estefan, exclaimed: "For Cuba, a new dawn with a new sun full of hope."

Musician Willy Chirino attended the Miami party on Saturday, and musicians Arturo Sandoval, Paquito D'Rivera and Jon Secada greeted Cuban exiles.

Castro "separated our people and made us hate each other," Sandoval said.

Politicians also gave their support to the celebrations of the exiles.

Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado visited the demonstration on Saturday afternoon and justified the fact that his compatriots showed so much joy with a death.

"We Cubans have the right to celebrate this day," he told reporters, urging the Latin American community "not to criticize Cubans for celebrating and understanding what that means."

In a statement, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said he joined "the Cuban Americans all over the country who are incredibly hopeful about the future of Cuba."

Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, representative of congressmen of Cuban origin, known for their relentless anti-Castroism, shared this view.

After calling Fidel as "evil dictator, assassin" on Saturday, Rubio told CNN today that it is "pathetic" that President Barack Obama has not mentioned the "thousands upon thousands of people who suffered brutally on the regime, or who died Trying to escape it. "

On her Web site, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who represents the area of ​​southern Florida where many exiled Cubans live, celebrated Fidel's death.

"A tyrant is dead and a new beginning may arise in the last remnant communist bastion of the Western Hemisphere," he said.

According to the Pew Research Center, there are two million Cubans in the United States. Of this total, 68% live in Florida, most of them in Miami.