The mood in Havana, Cuba, was subdued and mournful following the news of Fidel Castro’s death. But there were celebrations on the streets of Miami, in the United States.
Little Havana was full of cheers within half an hour of the Cuban government’s official announcement that the former president had died.
Thousands of people banged pots with spoons, waved Cuban flags in the air and whooped in jubilation in the heart of the neighbourhood early on Saturday.
Horns and strains of salsa music from car stereos echoed against stucco buildings, and fireworks lit up the humid night sky.
Police blocked off streets leading to Cafe Versailles – a Cuban American hotspot – while people chanted “Cuba si! Castro no!”. Meanwhile, other people screamed “Cuba libre!”.
Cubans fled the island to Miami, Tampa, New Jersey and elsewhere after Castro took power in 1959.
Thousands left behind their possessions and loved ones and travelled to the US by plane, boat or raft – many Cubans died on the ocean trip to South Florida. And those that made it to Miami took a largely anti-Castro stance.
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