One of the original Stonewall rebels, 68-year-old Raymond Castro, passed away from stomach cancer Saturday in Madeira Beach, Fla.
According to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Castro was inside Greenwich Village's Stonewall Inn on June 27, 1969, during "the first night of the uprising and is documented as the only person arrested that evening who was known to be gay." After being led out of Stonewall by two officers, Castro pushed against the patrol wagon with both feet and knocked the two officers to the ground. He was detained but later released without charge.
Originally from Puerto Rico, Castro moved to New York at age 5 and spent his career as a baker and wedding cake designer. He moved to Florida with his husband, Frank, after the Stonewall uprising. Castro traveled to New York in June to celebrate the 41st anniversary of Stonewall and to attend the 40th annual gay pride parade.
"A lot of people, especially the young ones, have no inkling what Stonewall is," Castro said to the New York Daily News at the time. "They think Gay Pride is just a big party. None of this would have been possible if it wasn't for 1969."
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