Cuban exiles living in Jacksonville celebrate the end of an era after Fidel Castro's death

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — For many, Fidel Castro’s death was no surprise. He was old and sick and had ceded power to his younger brother Raul Castro temporarily in 2006 and then permanently in 2008.

While it was no surprise, it was news thousands of Cubans living in exile longed to hear.

Cubans, and Cuban-Americans like myself, will always remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard Fidel Castro died.

Thousands of people flocked to the famed Calle Ocho in Miami’s Little Havana, holding flags, clanking pots and pans and chanting “Libertad! Libertad!”

Liberty.

A simple word that holds so much meaning.

It’s what Normarie Rebenack’s mom was in search of when she fled Cuba.

“I texted my mom, it was like maybe 1 o'clock in the morning, and I went to bed, woke up my husband and was like 'Castro died!'" said Rebenack.

Rebenack was fortunate enough to be born free in the U.S. but she said her mother’s pain is very much hers too.

“My mom tells the story about when they came in with machine guns and they threw the couch against the wall and they threw my mother and grandmother because they were searching for my uncle, and they took my uncle as political prisoner,” said Rebenack. “My family gets a little bit of a relief knowing that, you know, this tyrant monster is dead.”

Download the Action News Jax News app and First Alert Weather app

The pain was all too real for Monty Gomez and her husband. They fled in 1960 just as Castro took power. Shortly thereafter, her mother was arrested and became a political prisoner for five years.

“The Cuba I remember is no longer, of course, in existence. It only lives in my memory and my heart,” said Gomez.

Gomez is skeptical that Castro’s death will mean positive change for the oppressed island nation.

“The military and their families control the economy. What incentive could these people have to lose or to give up all that they stole and now have by force?” said Gomez.

While celebrations continue in the heart of the Cuban exile community, many Cubans recognize change won’t happen overnight.

Mirtha Rust has now lived longer in Jacksonville than she ever did in Cuba, but she remembers the exact day she fled her homeland.

It was Christmas Eve, 1960.

“We were a family that was very united; it got split apart. My whole world was turned upside down from that moment on, getting on that boat,” said Rust.

She never saw many of her relatives again.

“My grandmother committed suicide. She hung herself because she knew she would never see us again and I was really very close to her so it was really very traumatic for a 6 1/2-year-old,” said Rust.

So when Rust heard the man who forced her family to flee had died, no tears were shed.

“I'm celebrating the fact that it's the end, possibly, of an era that hopefully the Cuban people can now let go of the fears,” said Rust.

In spite of her doubts, Gomez remains hopeful.

Family searching for Jacksonville mom of 2 after car found running on bridge

“You never lose hope, because there is a God up there,” said Gomez.

Rust said time will tell but she believes that now that Fidel Castro is gone, there’s a chance for change.

“It's going to start crumbling down, there's going to be infighting and I think this is going to be the beginning of, finally, freedom for the people,” said Rust.

As for me, this story is very personal. My family fled not knowing if they'd ever see their relatives again. They fled to a country with a language they didn't speak, to neighborhoods they didn't know but thankfully welcomed them with open arms.

A picture of the moment my mom and her mom saw each other again after five years of separation comes to mind. So much pain and agony is captured on their faces after the five years they lost, forced to live apart, all because of a failed political ideology. It’s an image that is difficult to forget.

It’s why you see so many celebrations in the heart of the Cuban exile community.

Cox Media Group