Dec, 2024.- The joy of carnivals in Nuevitas on November 25, 2016 was suddenly overshadowed; it was past 10 pm and Army General Raul Castro Ruz announced on national television the sad news, Fidel had died.

I first remember the disbelief, dead? A giant like him, immortal! Then the reality gradually penetrated and made pain appear, a burning in the soul for the certainty of his physical departure, for the dreams of embracing him unfulfilled, for the fear of walking on my own feet without his guidance always accurate.

The tears did not take long to appear like an overwhelming torrent, as when mourning the death of a very close loved one, because Fidel was that, he was, and still is, a father to many.

I remember the lump in my throat that stopped me from recording in my own voice the feelings of the moment, and the evident sadness in the words of the friend who took on such a challenge.

It was November 25, 2016, and if before the date was significant for Cubans because on that day in 1956 the Yacht Granma left Tuxpan, Mexico, on its libertarian odyssey, now the event that would set the tone in the history of the Antillean island would be the farewell of the Caguairán.

Yes, we cry, a lot, but not because we believe we are lost without his physical presence or because we feel his loss as something irreparable in the progress of the Revolution.

We mourn because death always strikes deep in those who love, and because the love and guidance of a father is always missed.

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But Cuba today, eight years later, does not cry, it remembers, pays homage, revives the figure of Fidel Castro, his greatness and historical significance.

This November 25 became then a date to feel his presence and feel his powerful hand leading the new battles to come, because Fidel lives, walks with us and guides us towards a better tomorrow.