SANTIAGO, Cuba _ As a new day dawned Sunday in this city, the launching site for the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro was laid to rest in a private ceremony.
His ashes were interred in a crypt next to the 85-foot mausoleum of Cuban patriot Jose Marti in the Santa Ifigenia Cemetery.
In contrast to Marti's towering mausoleum, which was completed in 1951, Castro's crypt is a simple boulder-like structure. His ashes were slid into a niche in the stone, and workers sealed the entrance with a metal covering that said simply "Fidel."
Castro's remains join those of fallen rebels who took part in the July 26, 1953, assault on the Moncada Barracks, which marked the start of the Cuban Revolution. Other Cuban historic figures also are buried in the cemetery.
Thousands of mourners had kept vigil at the city plaza overnight, and then fanned out to surrounding streets to watch the passing of Castro's ashes one last time as the sun rose early Sunday.
"I've been here since yesterday morning," said Ernesto Echevarria, who works at the University of Oriente. "I just left for some coffee and now I'm back to watch the funeral procession. I didn't sleep a bit."
Echevarria said he decided to keep the vigil because of a "sense of commitment. How could you miss a day like this?"
The burial was over shortly before 9 a.m., according to those who attended.
"There was no speech, it was very somber, only the ashes were buried before family, members of the government and officials," Segolene Royal, ecology minister of France, told Agence France-Presse.
Just before 7 a.m., a somber mood spread as mourners of all ages waved Cuban flags and chanted, "Yo soy Fidel! Yo soy Fidel!"
Cuban state television offered coverage of the island's farewell to Castro and recalled the life of the revolution's leader, but it did not provide live coverage of the funeral.
The cemetery is in the northwestern part of Santiago. Castro's tomb had been a long-guarded secret. Construction began about two years ago, according to those who live nearby.
Cuban officials have said nothing about future access to Castro's tomb, but its location alongside Marti's, a grand site heavily visited by tourists and Cubans alike, indicates that there will be some form of public access to the grave.
