Hundreds of thousands of Cubans filed through Havana's Revolution Square on Wednesday, May 1, in a May Day parade that paid tribute to Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan leader who was the Caribbean island's top ally and benefactor before his death from cancer in March, Reuters reported.

A sea of workers, many wearing red shirts like those favored by Chavez and carrying signs with his image, paraded past a giant statue of 19th century Cuban independence hero Jose Marti in the vast square where Cuba holds its biggest political rallies.

They waved pictures of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, his younger brother President Raul Castro, Ernesto "Che" Guevara, the Argentine who fought alongside them in Cuba's 1959 revolution, and of Chavez, with the words "Our Best Friend" beneath his smiling face.

A large version of the Chavez picture hung from a nearby building, with the same caption, which came from a newspaper column written by Fidel Castro after Chavez' death in which he said the Venezuelan socialist had been Cuba's best friend ever.

Chavez, 58, died on March 5 after a long battle with cancer, much of it fought in Cuba under the care of Cuban doctors.