Latin American singers honor Fidel Castro at 85

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Breitbart:

HAVANA (AP) - Nearly two dozen singers and musicians from nine Latin American nations were honoring Fidel Castro with a happy-birthday concert Friday on the eve of the former leader's 85th.

Dubbed the "Serenade to Fidelity," the spectacle was planned as an "homage to the life of a man, of a people, of a nation and of a revolution," the Communist Party newspaper Granma said.

Dignitaries from other countries were expected and the event's planner promised there would be surprise visitors, but it was not known whether Castro himself would attend.

He has been out of power since 2006, when he was stricken with a nearly fatal intestinal illness and temporarily ceded the presidency to his brother Raul. The elder Castro permanently renounced the presidency in 2008.

Castro is rarely seen in public these days, and he seemed unsteady on his feet when he made a showing at a Communist Party Congress in April, walking to his seat with the help of an aide. At that same gathering, the party named a leadership council without him on it for the first time in five decades, leaving Fidel Castro with no official position.

Yet even in retirement, Castro casts a long shadow. Raul has said he consults with his older brother, and some Cuba-watchers say his presence has acted as a brake on reforms that Raul is betting will save the island's economy by loosening some state control.

"I think the issue is how long (Fidel) is going to linger on and how long he's going to meddle in the government," said Ann Louise Bardach, a longtime Cuba watcher and author of "Without Fidel: A Death Foretold in Miami, Havana and Washington."

"As long as he is alive and he is compos mentis, he's not going to change his thinking," Bardach said. "He's not going to have an epiphany about economic policy. He's going to do what he always did, which is the preservation of the revolution at all costs."
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Weekend At Fidel's?

[Saltbag]

Living la vida socialista

[pollyannaish]

Desi Arnez is rolling over in his grave.