President Fidel Castro died on November 25, 2016. By pure coincidence, the US lifted the travel ban that week for US citizens to legally visit Cuba for the first time since the Cuban revolution swept Batista out. I left on Thursday December 1 from NYC to Havana. It was the fourth non-stop direct flight from JFK to Cuba since 1959.
The young go about their day.
On the ground in Havana, President Obama was well regarded and loved for his lifting of the Cuban embargo. A new future of prosperity was anticipated by most Cuban citizens I spoke to.
Throughout the week, the police and secret police continued to patrol the streets.
The historical relics of the Cuban Revolution.
Upon his death the week before, Fidel Castro was 90 years old. For nine days (a day for each decade of his life), there was a moratorium on singing, dancing, and alcohol. The island was chillingly silent. Even in the taxis, there was no music coming from the radios.
The elderly go about their day playing dominoes not speaking of Castro or the decades of his rule.
Students at Havana University pay tribute to their deceased leader by defacing a campus statue with his likeness.
Silent streets in Revolution Plaza.
The sun sets on the Cuban capitol on the final day of Castro’s moratorium.