Havana, December 2 (RHC)-- The Caravan transporting the ashes of Revolution leader Fidel Castro to Santiago de Cuba arrived in Bayamo City, where the Cuban National Anthem was sung for the first time on October 20th, 1868.

The funeral procession departed from Camagüey to Bayamo, Granma province, crossing the provinces of Las Tunas and Holguín, where hundreds of thousands of Cubans lined the roads to pay tribute to their Comandante. 

The caravan will arrive in Granma province on Friday, where the Granma yacht carrying the expeditionary force led by Fidel landed on December 2nd, 1956, 60 years ago.

Once in Bayamo, now a National Heritage, the funeral procession will travel past the Plaza de la Revolución, where Fidel first addressed the residents at midnight on January 2nd, 1959.

The third and final overnight stop of the caravan will be at the Ñico López Museum-Park –the former Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks, which along with the Moncada barracks in Santiago de Cuba was simultaneously attacked by the revolutionaries on July 26th, 1953.

On Friday night and into the early morning hours, on December 3rd, Bayamo residents will render a vigil for Fidel at the Plaza de la Revolución, where Fidel addressed the nation on July 26th in 1982 and then in 2006,  marking National Rebellion Day.

After the vigil, Granma residents will make a pilgrimage past the Ñico López Museum-Park, where Fidel's ashes will rest for one night. 

In the early morning hours on Saturday, December 3rd, the caravan carrying Fidel's ashes will depart for Santiago de Cuba, where the funeral ceremony is set for Sunday, December 4th, at 7:00 a.m. local time at the Santa Ifigenia Cemetery.