HAVANA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Cubans began lining up five hours in advance of a mass gathering in Havana's Revolution Square on Monday to commemorate Fidel Castro, the guerrilla leader who led a leftist revolution in 1959 and ruled the Caribbean island for half a century.
Castro died on Friday at the age of 90, a decade after stepping down due to poor health and ceding power to his brother Raul Castro.
Castro was admired by leftists and people of the developing world who saw him as a revolutionary who stood up to the powerful United States, but vilified by those who viewed him as a dictator who oppressed Cubans and ruined the economy through socialism.
"For me, he continues living in the hearts of the Cubans," said Misleidys Rivero, 47, a service station employee with a small Cuban flag in her hand.
Castro was cremated on Saturday and the government has declared a nine-day period of mourning. His ashes will be carried in a cortege to a final resting place in Santiago de Cuba, the city in eastern Cuba where he launched the revolution.
The government has invited people to Havana's Revolution Square for a two-day ceremony that started at 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT) with a thunderous cannon salute that could be heard throughout much of the capital.
People began queuing up as early as 4 a.m. to be at the head of one of three lines of mourners entering a square that has been central to Cuba's recent history, and where Castro gave many of his rousing, lengthy speeches.
Mourners paraded by a photo of a young Castro dressed in military fatiques and gazing into the distance with a rifle and pack slug over his back. A military honor guard and some civilians flanked the photo and an arrangement of white flowers.
Among them was Ana Maria Vazquez, 49, who said she once worked in Castro's office in the Council of State.
"Fidel was country. He was revolution. But above all Fidel was a man who opened his heart to the people," said Vazquez, wiping away tears.
Political opponents stayed away or kept quiet, allowing admirers to say goodbye to a man who elevated the island to the world stage during the Cold War by forging a communist-run state just 90 miles (145 km) from Florida and then resisting Washington's long efforts to force change.
"He wasn't perfect. Nobody is," said Roberto Videax, a 72-year-old retiree who was nonetheless proud of Castro. "Fidel was a teacher, a patriot."
The ceremony in the capital will end on Tuesday night when foreign leaders are expected to pay their respects.
People stand in line to pay tribute to Cuba's late President Fidel Castro in Revolution Square in Havana, Cuba, November 28, 2016.
Marlon Mendez (10), who says he is an admirer of Cuba's former president Fidel Castro, poses inside his bedroom that is adorned with pictures of Castro, in Artemisa province, Cuba November 27, 2016.
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