miami. let s go to kerry sanders. you also had some very interesting and revealing interviews today. reporter: sheinelle, it s really been an amazing gathering here today. you have to understand that this cuban diaspora right now gathered out here, singing, are really celebrating not so much the death of fidel castro as the death of the symbol of the man who took control of the island and so for them, since 1959 on, his revolution, remember, these are thpeople who left because they were held as political prisoners. they were folks who were held in prison. they are folks who really felt that they could not live under communism. and then, of course, you have their children who have been born in other parts of the world or here in the united states. but she has been in this country for 54 years. she left cuba. so, you have a very deep understanding of what fidel castro meant. what does this mean to you today? oh, it means a lot of things because i have been here in this country for
miami s little havana, lest go to kerry sanders. i know you ve been talking to residents all day. what are they telling zblou. reporter: well, it s a larger gathering by the hour. right here on calle ocho, but among us is the mayor of miami, but he is also a cuban-american born in cuba in 1947. he sort of demonstrates the power of the cuban diaspora here by being the mayor of this city, one in three people of cuban descent. tell us what this means to you. the cuban diaspora have been waiting for 50 years, because they saw, in fidel castro, the symbol of tyranny. every family here has been impacted either way. by their grandparents or parents, by someone being in jail, by someone being killed by the government, by properties being taken, so everyone here in miami has not healed and this is why there is so much enthusiasm
father, was a great cuban patriot and when they took it off his coffin, he told me, this is not to be unfurled until the day fidel dies. so here we are. let s go to nbc s kerry sanders, he s in miami s little havana with more on the reaction. kerry, set the scene for us. reporter: well, sheinelle, it s been a party that started last night around 2:00 in the morning in little havana on calle ocho and it s a party that s been going on since. it did die down for a little bit but it s picked up quite a bit since the daylight has hit here. you can see people dancing in the street, literally, has the music is playing here. lydia is here with us. she s one of the people who came out here, felt that she was drawn here, but she also has a powerful stoir to tell. for those who don t understand the cuban diaspora, who don t understand why people would be literally dancing in the streets for the death of a head of state, why don t we start with the story of your father, okay? your father, cuba