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Aside from the dueling street-party atmosphere at Little Havana's Versailles restaurant and Westchester's La Carreta, there are the satellite trucks from local and national news operations standing by. Day 3 of Fidel Castro ceding power to his brother Raul, and you're struck by the chicken or egg question of the ages: Are people congregating at these spots in a spontaneous expression of joy for what they hope will happen or are they showing up because they know the TV trucks will be there and they want to mug for the cameras?
At least on Monday there was no reason to pose the question. Then, as news spread about Fidel's surgery, there was genuine excitement. Miami Herald reporter Susannah Nesmith was in the thick of it that first night at Versailles. Here's a tick-tock that shows not only the growing excitement of that night but how different generations of Cuban exiles and Americans of Cuban extraction celebrated the moment:
At the Versailles Coffee shop, three women struggled to keep the crowd supplied with
cuban coffee, cigars, water and croquetas. Outside, cars, SUVs and even a dump truck inched by, their passengers waving flags while their drivers honked horns. On the sidewalk, the chant was "Libertad!'' Liberty in Spanish.
Little Havana celebrated with flags waving - Cuban and American - and hearts hopeful. The crowd started small but quickly swelled as the news spread and Miami's exiles began to wonder what it might mean.
10:30 p.m.: While a yonger generation snapped photos with their cell phones, the gray haired men of the counterrevolution huddled. "We're not sure this is it yet, he could come back, but we have to prepare, we have to be ready," said Gerardo Lopez. He wouldn't say what he and his friends might be preparing.
10:38 p.m.: "This is the beginning of what we've been waiting for," said Lazaro Guerra, 75, as he
discussed the implications of Castro's announcement with friends. "I have four brothers still there, and another who was killed. I was in prison for years. But its almost over," he declared triumphantly.
10:42 p.m.: The crowd was still small but energetic, ringing cow bells and honking horns. Some worried the celebration might be premature. "He's not dead and he could always come back," said Carmen de Los Santos. "I hate or everyone to get so excited. What if he comes out of surgery and takes over again?"
10:51 p.m.: Miami police Sgt. Freddie cruz estimated about 600 people were gathered on the sidewalk, with another few hundred cruising the neighborhood in cars. "This is very peaceful, he said. "Everybody's loud and happy. We're letting them
celebrate."
11 p.m.: Miami police had a dozen officers directing traffic and corralling the
crowd.
11:15 p.m.: Someone finally showed up with what this party was lacking: music. Carlos Treto balanced on crutches as he banged out a rhythm with a spoon on a cookpot. The pot was passed around as older exiles took their turn dancing in the streets.
11:45 p.m.: A city bus worked its way down Calle Ocho on its regular route. The two men
inside waved and the crowd erupted, cheering anything and everything. One man held a sign, "Down with Fidel'' and wore a triumphant grin. The crowd cheered him too.
11:55 p.m.: One group danced a conga line, banging pots, as the crowd finally closed 8th Street.
The crowd began to chant, "Hey, hey, hey, goodbye." Mayor Manny Diaz arrived to a cheering reception. Deputy Police Chief Frank Fernandez was on Eighth Street, helping his people keep things under control. But he said it wasn't a difficult job. "Everyone's celebrating, but we haven't had a single incident so far," he said. "No arrests. No problems. People are just happy."
He said the department was prepared for more demonstrations to continue this week.
Midnight: Finally, someone arrived with a sound system and began blaring the
Willy Chirino song "Ya viene llegando" - "The time is coming'' in Spanish. The whole
crowd jumped in for the chorus, "the time has come that the world has been waiting for."
During a break in the song, others started up with the Cuban national anthem to the
accompianment of spoons on pots.
The sound system was supplied by local disc jockey Lazaro Valledares, who hooked the
speakers up to his Jeep Wrangler. The voice of Celia Cruz followed Chirino, with couples dancing on the outskirts of the crowd while everyone young and old clapped and sang along.
And then a group of shirtless young men wearing orange life vests and carrying a
cardboard raft plowed through the crowd. On the raft they had written "Fidel is screwed."
Cuban American leaders of congress during the last two days have drifted messages to the Cuban military that they can be part of a democratic future, and they appealed to them not to suppress peaceful demonstrations and protests seeking reform.
Lincoln Diaz-Balart specifically called on the military in Cuba to participate in the democratic process. "The military in Cuba is going to have a choice in the upcoming days and weeks and months," Diaz-Balart said. "They either stand with the Cuban people or their names will be on a list of infamy that the Cuban people will have access to in the future."
Diaz-Balart was referring to a list of 56 names the U.S. government has of people who have beaten and harrassed pro-democracy activists on the island. "It's very important for the military to know that it's certainly not on their interest to get on that list," Diaz-Balart said. "Either permit a transition to democracy and the armed forces survive as an entity in a multi-party democracy that responds to the will of the people...or follow the orders of the tyrants."
U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez echoed the sentiments in a statement Wednesday. "We must send a message to the Cuban military that there is a role for them in a democratic government and they should not bear arms against their brethren should there be peaceful movements for change in Cuba," Menendez said.
U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart: "The time has come in Cuba for a campaign of civil resistance, civil disobedience."
M.A.R. For Cuba President Sylvia Iriondo: "The dictatorship is coming to an end. Succession is not acceptable. Democratic change is what the Cuban people are striving for."
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, senior member of House International Relations Committee: "The U.S. will do nothing to help Raul Castro."
Florida House Speaker-designate Marco Rubio: "We are hopeful
that the events of the last 24 hours mark the beginning of freedom and democracy for the people of Cuba. ... This is a time of great hope. I am confident that our community will continue to handle these events in a manner worthy of the enormous contributions Cuban exiles have made to our state and our country."
Exiled dissident journalist Manuel Vasquez Portal: "A few months will occur of brutal oppression and military control from Raúl Castro."
U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart: "That day is coming. And it's coming soon. And I think it's important that we all realize that the Cuban people are ready, willing and able to do their part, and it's up to us to inform the world."
Miami-based Cuban journalist Pedro Gonzalez-Munne: "The most telling sign that Raúl has full power is that Carlos Lage was named as one of the ministers of funds. Lage supports the China model of economic reform, and is returning to a position of authority with ideas that Fidel didn't care for."
Former CIA Cuba analyst Brian Latell: "He [Fidel] could bounce back. We can't rule that possibility out. But he has been showing so many signs of physical and mental decline in recent months that this might turn out to be a permanent transfer of power."
Ninoska Perez-Castellon, radio host and spokeswoman for the Cuban Liberty Council: "Right now the status quo is the same. It's still the same dictatorship, just with the different face."
Photo from Tuesday's presser: Angel De Fana, Sylvia Iriondo, Mario Diaz-Balart, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Javier De Cespedes.
