Castro's absence spurs little hope among Miami's exiles

Posted on Sun, Dec. 03, 2006

Castro's absence spurs little hope among Miami's exiles
BY GLADYS AMADOR AND ELIAS LOPEZ
gamador@MiamiHerald.com

Fidel Castro's failure to appear at a military parade in Havana did
little to erase the uncertainty many Cubans feel about the future of
their island nation.

Still, from Hialeah to Little Havana, some Cubans held out hope that
Castro's death would bring about major change in the island's communist
government. Others, young and old alike, had their doubts.

''I think that while Raúl [Castro] is still in power, the change that
Cuba needs to undergo will not take place,'' said Fran Diaz, 42, who
directs a Miami-based band, La Orquesta Habana Soul.

He and others at La Carreta Restaurant on Hialeah's West 16th Avenue
said they weren't making plans to return to Cuba anytime soon.

''Only if the island would accept U.S. policy asking them to hold open
elections, free political prisoners and accept democracy, would I go
once again,'' said Diaz, who was dressed in typical 1950s Cuba gear:
all-white suit, two-toned shoes and a Panama hat.

''I think we would need a miracle for things to really change,'' said
Roberto Hervis, a 27-year-old Cuban exile who left the island only six
years ago. ``I don't want to be negative; it's just the way I see it.''

Hervis was an English literature teacher in Cuba, but left when he won
el bombo, the term Cubans use to describe the special U.S. visa lottery.

''The system unfortunately works so well that all the pieces are
perfectly in place -- even if he's [Fidel Castro] not physically there
anymore,'' he said.

For 60-year-old Jesus Perez, who came to the United States from Cuba
some 30 years ago, his only immediate wish is that he be alive to
witness Castro's death.

''It's the least that we deserve,'' he said as he puffed on a cigar.

Domingo Delmonte, 55, said he believes Castro's absence on Saturday
spells trouble for the current government.

''Castro is the one who has given the regime a style, and a change will
represent a risk and a lot of work,'' he said standing outside the
Versailles restaurant on Calle Ocho.

Angela Velazquez, 80, said she thinks Castro is already dead. ''But if
he's not, from the [television images], he looks terminal,'' she said.

Artist and Cuban exile Reinaldo Martinez, 46, who left Cuba in 1980,
professed his opinion with a politically charged montage outside the
crowded Versailles restaurant.

Perched on a trailer, a life-size Fidel Castro was displayed chained
inside a white white wooden coffin, with the Cuban leader wearing his
familiar olive military fatigues.

At his side: Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, with his signature red
beret atop his head, playing the role of a weeping widow.

Propped up on the other side of Castro's coffin: the late Palestinian
leader Yasser Arafat, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and al
Qaeda's Osama Bin Laden.

A sign overhead read ``Welcome To Your Home -- The Devil.''

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