November 25th, 2016 was a normal day until news broke out that Fidel Castro died due to health issues. Many emotions filled the air around the world after hearing this news. In Miami, riots broke out in celebration when hearing the news of Castro being dead. Cuban-Americans filled the street with music blasted, as the drums played and sounds of rejoice surrounded the streets of Miami. It also hit home for here in New York City. The Cuban-American community may be smaller here than it is in Miami, but the feelings were the same. “The fact that my parents left is the biggest influence or the biggest change, my parents would never have left the country if it hadn’t been for the situation with the government.” Says Rosa Olivera, a Cuban-American New Yorker.
Fidel Castro was a communist dictator of Cuba for almost fifty years and his reign is finally over. While Castro was in power his decisions made for Cuba reflected on his idea of nationalism. He wanted a better country for his people, however what he thought was better some Cubans disagreed. Castro did accomplish a lot for Cuba such as the increase in literacy rate, healthcare, education and more. The literacy rate in Cuba is 99.8%, one of the highest of all countries in the world. Castro provided free healthcare and education to the people of Cuba. The doctor-patient ratio is very high in comparison to more developed countries such as the United States.
With Castro gone now, a lot of people reacted to the news, for those Cuban-Americans that experienced Castro during his supremacy responded loud and clear. As most Cuban-Americans who had to leave their own country for better opportunities. Alfredo Garcia, another Cuban-American who went into depth about his middle class family and the love he had for Cuba. He states “It was wonderful because my family was middle class and they gave me the best education the country had to offer.” The education was worthy in a country like Cuba. He went on to describe how missing the opportunity to finish school in his home country gives him grief.
There are a lot of people who have been against Castro, and then there are some that were supporters. When he first started his post in office the community of Cuba were pleased to move on from Fulgencio Batista Zaldívar. They expected more unity and were in for a rude awakening when the economy started to fall. There were many reasons why Cubans migrated to the United States. Majority of Cuban-Americas live in Miami, Florida. The culture of the Cuban-Americans is evident when you see cigar shops and cafes on just about every block.