Reunited in death: Fidel Castro’s remains rest at Che Guevara mausoleum
One of history’s best known double acts was temporarily reunited on Wednesday, when Fidel Castro’s ashes arrived at a mausoleum housing the bones of his fellow revolutionary, Ernesto “Che” Guevara, part of a three-day cortege for the Cuban leader.
Castro was cremated after he died on Friday aged 90. His ashes are being driven in a military caravan that reverses the route from Santiago de Cuba to Havana taken by his band of guerrillas in a fight to topple a U.S.-backed president in 1959.
A few thousand mourners gathered to greet the caravan at the mausoleum outside Santa Clara, the central town where Argentine doctor-turned-revolutionary Guevara derailed an armored train in a battle against the army of President Fulgencio Batista that helped tip the war to the rebels.
On stage, folk musicians and a theater troupe gave a memorial performance.
“This is a sacred place for us, because Che rests here. Now Fidel is going to spend the night alongside his battle companion,” said Pedro Pineda, 70, a worker in a meat processing plant.
Earlier, crowds lined streets chanting “Fidel!” and waving small Cuban flags for a man who ruled Cuba for 49 years with a mix of charisma and iron will, creating a Communist state at the U.S. doorstep and becoming a central figure in the Cold War.