Fidel Castro is 90 today – and Cuba is celebrating!<br /><br /> Workers at a state-run firm in Havana marked the occasion by sharing a giant birthday cake. <br /><br /> Other tributes include an exhibition of photographs of the revolutionary leader in Havana’s grandiose Hotel Nacional, flags reading ‘Gracias, Fidel’, billboards citing his best-known phrases and endless stories on state media.<br /><br /> “Fidel is an example for the whole world, he is a large personality because of all he did for our country,” said Yoelmis Mengana, a shop owner, after touring the photo exhibition.<br /><br /> Thousands are expected to attend street concerts over the weekend in honour of Castro, the man who toppled a US-backed dictator in 1959.<br /><br /> He is revered by many for freeing Cuba from US domination and bringing universal healthcare and education, but loathed by others for his long grip on the island.<br /><br /> A decade after ill health forced him to step down, the elderly revolutionary now has the honorific title Historic Leader on the Communist-ruled island. <br /><br /> History review — As Fidel Castro prepares to turn 90, check out the key dates in the polarizing giant’s long life pic.twitter.com/WUaXO4cgAV— AFP news agency (@AFP) 11 août 2016<br /><br /> The history of Communist Cuba’s founding figure is undeniably part of world history too – from Castro’s 1959 revolution, helped by Che Guevara and others, to the impassioned, hours-long speeches during nearly half a century of rule and the changing Cuba that has emerged now that Fidel’s influence has waned.<br /><br /> This has been marked by market-style reforms introduced by his brother, President Raul Castro, who officially took the reins of power in 2008 and a previously unimaginable detente with arch-foe, the United States.<br /><br /> An iconic figure who still has moral authority among many residents, especially older generations, Fidel now lives in relative seclusion but occasionally writes opinion pieces or meets visiting dignitaries.<br /><br /> Many will be wondering if a rare public appearance might mark his big day.<br />
