revolution. raoul castro said that fidel castro would be cremated as were his wishes and that planning is beginning for a state funeral. typically when there s an event, a tragic event or someone who has been a revolutionary icon like fidel castro of course was, that you see sort of force warning across the country. i can tell you with hugea shaf easy, a friend with cuba, at my children s school they wouldn t let them sing and bars and restaurants were closed. nothing is sort of allowed that would show any kind of celebrations or happiness. these moments, i was here with che guerra, the revolutionary, was brought back, and hundreds of people, whether they wanted to, had to march past his coffin. you will see the large-scale events of mourng, and when fidel castro swept into power many em
but his image and importance slowly faded. castro insisted death was not something he feared. i ve never been afraid of death. i was never concerned about death. the latter statement seems ironic coming from a man who single handedly dictated over cuba for nearly a half century. let s bring in cnn dallas correspondent ed lavandera. i know you spoke to people to get reaction and thoughts about the present leadership and the figure always in the shadow of fidel castro. what do you expect the reaction
selective reasoning, but castro never lost faith in the revolution. his intelligence and shrewdness continued to command fear and respect. he would eventually outlive many of his critics and outlast ten u.s. administrations. in the end it was illness, not washington, that forced him to retire. passing cuba s leadership to his younger brother raul. in his last years, castro appeared only occasionally, mostly in photos, looking frail. at times he tried to play the role of elder statesman. but more and more he simply seemed inconsequential. interpreter: the cuban government has been very agile. it slowly removed him from the scene. it would have been one thing if he abruptly died back in 1986. instead his importance has slowly faded. reporter: castro insisted death is not something he
you learn about fidel castro in the history books. what would you expect to hear from the reaction in miami, the reaction in cuba as this news slowly starts to gain traction? i think it will be a mixed reaction. obviously some of these cuban americans have grown up in the united states never having been back to cuba. it is in recent years there s talk that they had been able to go back and see their cuban relatives or send money back home and really the whole idea of fidel castro is more of a myth and legend than anything they have experienced, but yet there are so many cuban americans who live live in cuba and have migrated to the united states, become citizens and made america their home. i think it will be mixed
revolution. opponents concede castro s popularity diminished as his beard grew whiter. but his intelligence and shrewdness continued to command fear and respect. he would eventually outlive many of his critics and outlast ten u.s. administrations. in the end, it was illness, not washington that forced him to retire. passing cuba s leadership to his younger brother raul. in his last years, castro appeared only occasionally, mostly in photos looking frail. at times he tried to play the role of elder statesman. but more and more he seemly seemed inconsequential. translator: the cuban government has been very agile, it has slowly removed him from the scene. it would have been one thing if he abruptly died. reporter: castro always insisted something that he has feared. translator: i have never been afraid of death. i m not concerned about death.