HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- Thousands gathered in the Cuban capital on Sunday to pay their respects to one of Cuba's few remaining original revolutionaries, Juan Almeida, who according to state media died of a heart attack Friday evening. Cubans wait Sunday at Havana's Revolution Plaza to pay respects to deceased Cuban revolutionary Juan Almeida. A single column of people stretched around Havana's Revolution Square in a well-coordinated show of solidarity and remembrance during what state media reported as a national day of mourning. President Raul Castro and other top government officials were reportedly on hand, though elder brother and former Communist leader Fidel Castro -- not seen in public since abdominal surgery in 2006 -- did not make an appearance.
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Cuban revolutionary Juan Almeida died of a heart attack Friday evening
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Thousands gathered in the Cuban capital on Sunday to pay their respects
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He was among only a few black leaders in top government posts
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Almeida fought with the Castros at the start of their revolution
The elder @placeholder recently surfaced in a series of photos and video looking healthier, though he has not appeared in public in over three years.