Cuba mourns death
of Communist revolution's first lady

Acting Cuban president Raul Castro blinked back tears Tuesday as he placed a red rose before a portrait of his late wife, Vilma Espin Guillois, who was the first lady of the Cuban revolution--a guerrilla warrior and pioneer for the rights of gays and women.

Castro has governed the island for nearly 11 months while his brother Fidel recovers from intestinal surgery, but Espin, who died Monday at 77, was Cuba's most powerful woman for decades, campaigning for equality of the sexes in education, work, and other aspects of life. She was also an advocate for decriminalizing homosexuality, which the government agreed to do in 1979.

"She was a tremendous revolutionary but also a tremendous woman,'' said Sara Hurtado, a 58-year-old retired Havana health worker. ''She was a role model for all the women in Cuba.''

No cause of death was reported, but Espin was said to suffer from severe circulatory problems.

Flags flew at half-mast as thousands lined up outside the towering white marble Jose Marti monument on the capital's Revolution Plaza to file past a head-high black and white photo of Espin.

Arianna Patino, a 19-year-old Tourism Ministry worker, stood in line with her colleagues for two hours to pay her respects. Of Espin's generation ''there are fewer and fewer left,'' Patino said.

Espin's death is a reminder that the dashing young rebels who built Cuba's communist system are nearing the end of their lives, opening an uncertain chapter in the nation's history. (AP)