Vigorous Castro Marches 1 1/2 Miles to Mark Revolt
HAVANA — Fidel Castro led more than a million of his compatriots on a march Thursday to celebrate the anniversary of the Cuban revolution’s beginning, trekking about 1 1/2 miles in a display of vigor after his fainting spell last month.
Wearing his olive green uniform and a less typical pair of white sneakers, the Cuban president, who turns 75 next month, waved a small Cuban flag as he stepped off down Havana’s coastal Malecon highway.
Castro marched for about 20 minutes, completing not quite half of the 3 1/2-mile parade route. State television estimated the number of participants at 1.2 million.
He did not address the crowd.
While Castro led a similar July 26 march in Havana last year, Cubans had wondered aloud if “El Comandante” would do so this year, following his brief fainting spell last month during a speech under a broiling sun. It was the first incident of its kind during Castro’s 42-year rule.
July 26, known in Cuba as National Rebellion Day, commemorates the armed revolt Castro led in the wee hours of July 26, 1953.
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