Cuban former president and its communist leader Fidel Castro died on Nov. 25 at the age of 90, according to Cuban state media.
While the general feeling among some Cubans along the Central Coast weren’t too far off from their exiled brethren who flooded Miami’s Calle Ocho in celebration, they’re a bit more reserved about the death of Castro. Instead, they take a wait-and-see approach to change in their home country.
Castro had been the face of a revolutionary communist Cuba since overthrowing the government in 1959. After falling ill in 2006 power turned over to his brother, Raul, in 2008.
Santa Maria resident Cecilia Todd came to Miami in 1966 with her mother, Teresa Diaz, on a vuelo de la libertad, or freedom flight, from Cuba. Diaz is a resident of Oceanside.
At first, Diaz didn’t believe that Castro had died. Despite his death, both Todd and Diaz are skeptical that Cuba will be free after Castro’s death.
“My idea is that nothing’s going to change as long as there is a Castro in power,” Diaz told the Sun while visiting Todd in Santa Maria.
When the Castros came to power, she said, many were killed because of their political beliefs and families were torn apart, including hers. This resulted in a Cuban diaspora that prompted many to flee to the U.S.
The Castro brothers are considered tyrants among many of the Cubans who live in the U.S., and Diaz said that basic freedoms, such as the freedoms of speech and protest, are still non-existent there. “People are celebrating that Cuba’s free, but it’s not,” Diaz said. She told the Sun she was reluctant to give her opinion on Castro’s death because she still has family in the country.
Todd remembers that even after leaving Cuba for good, her mother wouldn’t talk about the Castros.
“We lived in fear in New Orleans for many years,” Todd said. “As long as there was a Castro, we didn’t say anything and my mother still believes that.”
Cubanissimo food truck owner Arqui Trenado received a text message on Nov. 25 that Castro died, but he too didn’t believe it because of years of death rumors that turned out to be false.
His skepticism turned to shock after television news reports confirmed the leader’s death.
“I was like wow, finally,” Trenado said after hearing of Castro’s death.
Trenado came to the New York City area from Cuba, where most of his family still lives, in 1997. He met his wife, Crystal, and eventually moved to the Central Coast. He came to the U.S. because he wanted to open his own business.
He agrees with Diaz in her doubt that any substantial change will come to Cuba with a Castro family member in power.
Before Fidel Castro’s death, significant diplomatic efforts were made by President Barack Obama to renew relations with Cuba and Raul Castro. This included lifting the designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism and allowing the Cuban government to open a bank account in the U.S. But even these were met with resistance among U.S. Cubans, including Trenado, Todd, and Diaz.
“I don’t think it’s going to change a lot because his brother’s in power right now,” Trenado said. “Let’s wait and see.”
This article appears in Dec 1-8, 2016.
