Fidel Castro dies; legacy lives on

On Nov. 25, life for many Cubans changed in the blink of an eye when Fidel Castro, the ruler of Cuba for nearly five decades, passed away at 10:29 p.m. in Santiago de Cuba Province, Cuba.

According to Biography.com, Fidel Castro was born on Aug. 13, 1926, and started his life unknowing that at the age of 33, he would become a role model to all Cubans when he would be declared ruler of Cuba in 1959. Castro ruled Cuba for over 47 years.

Reactions To Castro’s Death

Recently some Cubans were horrified to find out that their leader had died late in the night on Aug. 25, while some were overjoyed to receive this news.

Reactions to Castro’s death led many Cubans and Americans into celebration while it put others into extreme grief and mourning.

According to CNN News, the streets of Miami were filled with overjoyed Cubans and Americans playing festive music and waving Cuban flags in the air. Others locked themselves into their houses because of sadness and will sit and grieve for days on end until the sadness from the death of their leader passes over.

MHS history teacher David Henry said he thinks that it’s been a very long struggle for a lot of people in Cuba. “There’s been an awful amount of people that are happy that there might be some hope for some change and some freedom that might come to that country.”.

Many Cubans are happy to see that change may be in their future and that good things may come their way. MHS Spanish teacher Allison Kwasniak said, “He was a great leader and it’s kind of bittersweet because some people did not appreciate his leading while others did.”

An Outlook For Cuba

Many wonder what will Cuba’s future look like with a new ruler and a new way of life. The possibilities are limitless.

“Who knows where it’s gonna go from here,” Henry said. “It looks like there’s kind of a crack that’s in the, sort of wall, that’s between us and that country. It looks like there is a possibility of a warming of our relationship, that could lead to who knows what, maybe some pretty great things.”

Many people all over the world wonder what will happen next for Cuba as a country and have high hopes that some great things are coming up in the future.

Kwasniak said, “It will be nice to see how the U.S. will help Cuba and what relationship that will create between us.”

As many people will continue to celebrate the death of Fidel Castro, others will truly miss him, but Fidel Castro will forever be a part of history.