The Republic of Cuba is a state that lands on an island located on the Caribbean Sea. Its history is characterised by the revolution of 1959 of Fidel Castro that led to a Marxist-Leninist political order strongly connected to the Soviet Union opposed to its capitalist neighbour United States.
Due to this idea of preserving Socialism and the Cuban missil crisis during the Cold War, the island endured a long-lasting embargo with the United States. The suspention of trade with other countries strongly preserved its traditions and particularities, which represents nowadays a unique attraction for Western citizens, who feel that they are travelling back in time. The famous cars that immediately catch your eye are those from the 60s, that impressively are still in perfect working order.
The City Havana is the largest city of Cuba and its capital. I arrived there with a flight from Italy, before going to Mexico, and stayed for five days. The city is spread along the coast, and the best way to enjoy it is a long walk on The Malecon. Seeing the ocean for the first time was a big emotion for me. The feeling of being surrounded by large waters, which could be traversed by boats, were once upon a time the only way to get there.
The National Capitol is one of the most famous buildings in Havana. It was commissioned by the Cuban president Gerardo Machado, to host the Congress meetings. It was the tallest building in La Havana till the 1950s. After the Cuban Revolution in 1959, it was abandoned, till 2013, when they decided to restore it for use. It is similar to that of the white in Washington D.C, but a meter higher, wider, longer, as well as much richer in detail.
La Havana has two sides: I reached the part across the bridge by boat, and assisted at the lanzamiento del cañonazo in the Fortaleza de la Cabaña, a traditional ceremony held everyday at 9pm in which some disguised people reproduce how the Spanish used to shoot a cannon that notified the closure of the walls to protect the city from pirates during the night. It was very realistic to see the guards approaching with a firm step towards the cannon even though it took them a lot of time to do all the formalities, and when they finally took the shot, I jolted with fright!
If you rub his beard, hold his right hand and put your foot on his left foot, they say you will have good luck.
People
Spanish colonizers landed in Cuba in 1492, thinking they had arrived to a peninsula of the Asian continent. They conquered the island and founded the settlement that has become today Havana. For this reason, the language today used in Cuba is Spanish. During the colonization Cuba was subjected to the Atlantic slave trade, which brought there many Africans. Also, a lot of Chinese people immigrated to Cuba and worked in the sugar fields. The result is that the population of Cuba nowadays live in the stardard of life. Havana has one of the oldest and largest Chinatowns in Latin America.
La Havana has also a Christ sculpture representing Jesus, on its hilltop. It was built This looks like a smaller representation of the one in Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil or in San Sebastián, in Spain.
It was a nice view, while coming back, to see the sunset on the opposite site with the skyline of the city.
Currency
As a tourist from abroad, understand prices in Cuba can be a bit confusing: the economy is working with two official currencies, the CUP, Cuban Pesos and the CUC Cuban Convertible Pesos. This last was created in 1994 to boost the economy that was too weak. In fact, it is value is related to the US dollar, which corresponds to 1 to 1. When changing the money you will be given this currency, that is used by tourists and accepted in touristic places. What I advise you is to go in local shops and restaurants and pay with this money, in order to support the population that doens't have access to that value and find traditional things that are more authentic than touristic Calle Obispo.
Before visiting Cuba, you have to know also that you will be disconnect from internet for most of your stay. In the city of Havana hostels and guest houses don't usually have Wi-Fi. Getting online is possible only by going in special parks and purchase a card providing the code that let you stay connected for one hour, so be prepared to be offline and enjoy the beauty of the journey without technology!
I really hope that you liked my article! Click on the little heart or leave a comment to let me know what you think about Cuba!
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