This was a year after Fidel Castro took control of the island, during a time when a lot of privately owned assets were seized and placed under national ownership. This included land and businesses owned by both Cubans and foreign companies and individuals.
Goods were no longer transported from the US to Cuba with the exception of essential food and medical supplies , and with the sudden removal of their largest and one of the nearest trading partners, Cuba had to make do with what they already had. This is certainly one of the things what makes Cuba unique, and those wonderful old cars are a great example of this. There are a few newer cars that were imported with great expense and difficulty from other parts of the world, but most cars in Cuba are pre When you walk around most places you are bombarded with advertising.
You constantly see massive advertisements for the latest smartphone, and posters with models seductively holding a bottle of soda a small glass of which probably contains 10 times the amount of sugar an average person should consume in a day. There is a noticeable lack of these things in Cuba. In the then Spanish rulers of Cuba banned the sport on the island, which paradoxically is thought to have given it a boost as it became symbolic of the struggle for freedom and independence from Spain.
The ban did not last long, and by the first official games were being played. By the early s it had become the most popular sport in Cuba , something that has remained to this day though if dominoes were to be categorised as a sport, then it would be a close call.
You can watch Cuban baseball being played formally in stadiums or informally in parks and side streets. Games are also regularly broadcast on Cuban television.
The principal tobacco product is the Cuban cigar , famous worldwide as the gold standard of cigars, and consequently a vital export. Sugar is exported in its raw form and also in the form of various rums that are made on the island. As for nickel , it is thought that Cuba still has reserves of over five million metric tons.
This places the country fifth in the world, after Indonesia, Australia, Brazil and Russia. The majority of the nickel ends up being used abroad to make stainless steel and other alloys. Outside 5-star hotels and very expensive bars, beer is very cheap in Cuba. Local brands like Bucanero and Cristal can be bought for under 2 dollars in most places, or even for only 1 dollar at state-run stores.
Cocktails are not expensive either. There is a plethora of natural places that are excellent for hiking and camping, especially near mountain regions. Caribbean beaches are renowned for their crystal clear waters and fine sand, and Cuba has some of the most beautiful in the region. Buy world-famous Cuban cigars direct from the factories that have produced them for dozens of decades.
Cuban cigar rollers are considered among the best in the world, and there are several stores where you can buy some of the main brands rolled by hand. Cubans love their music. From street performers to DJs, from famous timba bands to the person next door playing their favorite sounds for the entire neighborhood, music seems to come out of every corner in Cuba.
The people are out and about, engaging with one another and the world around them. Relationships with family and friends are prized above pretty much everything else. As a traveler, this social dynamic offers you a unique opportunity to engage with the local people and learn about their culture.
This article is aimed at helping you better understand Cubans and prepare for your trip to Cuba. Cubans are gregarious, friendly people. They will talk to just about anyone, and seem to spend the majority of their days in the company of others. The people are tightly interconnected with one another, which is especially refreshing for outsiders who come from countries where technology has largely replaced interpersonal communication.
In fact, the lack of technology in Cuba — cell phones, TVs, and computers — has made socializing more of a necessity. Cubans want visitors to have a positive experience in Cuba. Due to their tight social network and outgoing attitude, Cubans seem happy—you often see them smiling, chatting, and hugging one another. However, beneath the surface there is also sadness and dissatisfaction. Alarmingly, the suicide rate in Cuba is nearly twice that of the United States.
Cubans may feel trapped by economic and political restrictions, and suicide often is seen as way to escape. Despite their economic and political woes, Cubans genuinely love their country and Cubans feel a strong loyalty to their homeland. They are proud of their history and hopeful about their future. Of these people, 76 percent live in an urban setting, primarily Havana and Santiago de Cuba.
However, Cuba also has a fairly old population—about 16 percent of the people are over the age of This is likely to create economic problems as more Cubans retire and begin to receive a government pension. A tiny percentage of the population is Chinese. The Cuban population is diverse and heterogeneous, and is far less racially divided than the United States.
Multiracial Cubans and blacks were banned from hotels and clubs. After the Revolution, institutionalized racism was banned and equality was supported. As a result, Cuban society is now fairly diverse and accepting of all people.
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