Fidel Castro

The casket carrying his ashes then lay in state for Cubans to pay homage to Castro at the José Martí Memorial in Havana on 28 and 29 November. A rally then took place at the Plaza de la Revolución on 29 November in which President Raúl Castro as well as various world leaders who were allies of Castro paid tribute. From 29 November to 3 December the casket carrying his ashes travelled along a 900 kilometres route to Santiago de Cuba, tracing in reverse the route of the "Freedom Caravan" of January 1959 in which Castro and his rebels took power.

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The crowds at the rally and along the procession route were a mix of people attending on their own and groups of Cubans organized by government workplaces, where attendance was not strictly obligatory but with strong pressure to attend. Some groups of government workers slept on the streets because all public transport had been commandeered to move people to Castro-related activities

​Castro will be remembered as “a great fighter for the idea that the poor have a right to live with dignity”, Zuma told the crowd.

One of the most prominent international figures in the last half of the 20th century, Castro inspired both passionate love and hate. Many who later lost faith in him can remember how they once admired the man who needed just a dozen men to launch the Cuban Revolution