Cuba Prepares for National Mourning Week Following Fidel Castro's Death

NBC 4 New York's Stefan Holt will be filing reports live from Havana

Flags waved at half mast in front of Cuba's Plaza 13 de Marzo as the country somberly prepares for two days of tributes to honor the late Fidel Castro. 

Thousands are expected to pay their respects to his remains at Revolution Plaza starting Monday near a huge sculpture of revolution leader and Castro's close friend Ernesto "Che' Guevara. Cubans gathered sporadically Saturday evening to memorialize their former leader, some brought to tears while others chanted revolutionary slogans.

An extensive list of street closures and how to access Revolution Plaza was published in the Communist Party newspaper Granma. NBC 4 is one of the few American news outlets reporting on Castro's death from Havana.  

The Cuban government announced nine days of national mourning beginning Saturday and culminating with a burial ceremony at Santiago de Cuba on Dec. 4. In the meantime, a mass gathering will be held in the capital Tuesday. The following day, his ashes will embark on a four-day tour of the country retracing the "Caravan of Liberty" he led after ousting his predecessor in 1959.

Celebrations erupted on the streets of Cuban-American neighborhoods in Miami and remembrances from world leaders poured in when word spread that the divisive, iconic figure had passed away. In Union City, a New Jersey city dubbed "Havana on the Hudson," reaction to Castro's death was more mixed. 

Castro retreated from the public eye in 2006 following emergency surgery for intestinal bleeding. His health problems forced him to temporarily hand power to his younger brother, who permanently took his place as president in 2008.

Castro's death follows a historic thawing of relations between Cuba and the United States with the announcement in mid-December that the countries planned to restore diplomatic and economic ties.

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