Few political changes likely as Cuba moves on from six decades under the Castro brothers

HAVANA - In many ways, it seemed a day like any other in the Western Hemisphere's only communist nation.

Young Cubans gathered at wireless hot spots here in the capital to connect their smart phones. Taxis - vintage Chevrolets and Buicks and other classics - lined up outside hotels catering to Europeans and Canadians.

As the sun set, families strolled along the seaside Malecon, dodging the spray from waves pounding the signature sea wall.

But the overriding sense of normality here Wednesday belied the historic significance of the moment.

Cuba is about the embark on its most momentous political transition since 1959, when Fidel Castro and his bearded co-revolutionaries seized power in Havana, ousting the U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista - and triggering an almost