Portal:Cuba

  

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Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba (Spanish: Cuba or República de Cuba, IPA: [re'puβlika ðe ˈkuβa]), consists of the island of Cuba (the largest of the Greater Antilles), the Isle of Youth and adjacent small islands. Cuba is located in the northern Caribbean at the confluence of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Cuba is south of the eastern United States and the Bahamas, west of the Turks and Caicos Islands and Haiti and east of Mexico. The Cayman Islands and Jamaica are to the south.

Cuba is the most populous country in the Caribbean. Its culture and customs draw from several sources including the aboriginal Taíno and Ciboney peoples, the period of Spanish colonialism, the introduction of African slaves, years of close ties to the Soviet Union, and its proximity to the United States. The island has a tropical climate that is moderated by the surrounding waters; the warm currents of the Caribbean Sea and its location between water bodies also make Cuba prone to frequent hurricanes.

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Tourism in Cuba attracts over 2 million visitors a year, and is one of the main sources of revenue for the island. With its favorable climate, beaches, colonial architecture and distinct cultural history, Cuba has long been an attractive destination for travelers from around the globe, and benefited from its close proximity to the United States to gain a reputation as a hedonistic escape for U.S. tourists. As relations between Cuba and the United States deteriorated rapidly after the Cuban Revolution of 1959, the island became cut off from its traditional market by an embargo and travel ban imposed on U.S. citizens visiting Cuba, and the industry declined to record low levels within two years.

Following the collapse of Cuba's chief trading partner the Soviet Union, and the resulting economic crisis known as the Special Period, Cuba embarked on a major program to bolster its tourist industry in order to bring in much needed finance to the island. Schemes to encourage visitors resulted in the tourism surpassing Cuba's traditional export industry, sugar, as the leading source of revenue by the late 1990s. Visitors come primarily from Canada and Europe and tourist areas are highly concentrated around Varadero Beach, Cayo Coco, the beach areas north of Holguin, and Havana. The impact on Cuba's socialist society and economy has been significant, leading to complaints that the state has fostered a form of divisive wealth apartheid on the island.

  

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The Castillo del Morro San Pedro de la Roca, near Santiago de Cuba.
Credit: DirkvdM

The Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca, a coastal fortress near Santiago de Cuba completed in 1700.

  

Did you know...

  • ...that in 2005, Hurricane Dennis (pictured) left 16 people dead in Cuba and cost $1.4 billion in damages?
  • ...that the Carretera Central is an east-west highway spanning the length of the island of Cuba?
  • ...that Santa María del Mar is one of a chain of beaches called the Eastern Beaches (Spanish: Playas del Este) which extend for 15 miles along the north coast of Havana province? And that it is a very popular spot for tourists?
  

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Things you can do

Wikipedia's maxim is that anyone can edit. If you are interested in Cuba and have useful information that would form a new article or would enhance an existing article, please feel free to take part. Here are some tasks you can do to help with WikiProject Cuba:

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Charles Edward Magoon (December 5, 1861 – January 14, 1920) was a prominent United States lawyer, judge, diplomat, and colonial administrator who is best remembered as a colonial Governor of both Cuba and the Panama Canal Zone. He was also the subject of several small scandals during his career.

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Quote of the day

“ I am in daily danger of giving my life for my country and duty, for I understand that duty and have the courage to carry it out-the duty of preventing the United States from spreading through the Antilles as Cuba gains its independence, and from overpowering with that additional strength our lands of America. I have lived in the monster and I know its entrails; my sling is David's." ”
José Martí writing about possible annexation by the United States before the Spanish-American war, 1895. (online).
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