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Period 6
Cuba

Known as the first island Christopher Columbus landed on in 1492 claiming the discovery of America, Cuba was already inhabited by native Indians. Most of the native Indians soon died off due to disease brought over by the European sailors and settlers. The island came under Spanish rule and African slaves were brought in to work the coffee and sugarcane plantations that supplied a third of the world’s demand at that time. Havana became the capital city from which annual treasure fleets set bound to Spain from Mexico and Peru. The Spanish ruled for years and although there were some independent movements and rebellions, independence did not become real to the Cubans until U.S. intervention during the Spanish American war in 1898. A treaty was signed in 1899 making Cuba independent under U.S. protection. A few years later in 1902 The Treaty of Paris was signed which gave Cuba independence from the U.S. Cuba became ran with military rule and corrupt government. In 1934 a treaty was signed allowing the U.S. to station a naval base a Guantanamo Bay. Fidel Castro’s revolution in 1959 spawned a new rule of communist government aided by the Soviet Union. From the 1960’s through the 1980’s, association with the Soviet Union brought in 4 to 6 billion dollars a year for Cuba. In the 1990’s when the Soviet Union abandoned Cuba, their economy tanked causing food and energy to be tightly rationed. In 2008 after 49 years of uninterrupted rule, Fidel Castro resigned as president of Cuba and named his brother Raul as his successor. Although Cuba has been through a rough history, Cuba has always been a beautiful place for tourism, there are lots of sports and activities Cuba excels in. Cuba has always been a naturally beautiful place to travel. Before 1959 when Fidel Castro brought communist rule to Cuba, many Americans traveled to Cuba pretty often. The wealthy even had vacation homes there. After the 1990’s when the Soviet Union abandoned the country, Cuba began to become more of a tourist place again. Cuba has beautiful landscapes and beaches. Be sure to beware of prostitutes and con men and women who lurk on the beaches. Cuba is also a great place to scuba dive, due to the beautiful reefs and colorful tropical fish that are only found in Cuba. It is not advised to stay on a resort if you want a real glimpse into Cuban culture. There’s also an old ex mafia hangout spot that has been converted into a very nice entertainment club. The cost to get in to the club is about $60 US dollars. Most locals cannot even afford to go to such a place because of how expensive it is. There is also great Afro-Cuban music and dance that is very popular in Cuba. In most of the nightclubs, there is even Cuban reggae and Cuban rap. Due to the abundance of fresh fruit, there is always fresh fruit juice available to quench your thirst. Sports have always played a major role in Cuba. The Cuban government has invested heavily in sports and promotes its activity. The national sport is baseball although they excel in many others. Most if not all the young people in Cuba participate in sports, giving sports officials a wider pool to select from for their national sports. Baseball in Cuba dates back to the early 19th century. The Cuban national baseball team dominates all of Latin America. Every province has there own baseball team with some larger ones such as Havana having two teams. This makes a total of about 16 teams total who all compete in a league very identical to the our United States major league baseball. The best of the Eastern conference meets with the best of the Western conference in a best out of seven matches. Boxing is also a sport that Cuba has excelled in on an international level. Every four years Cuba comes home with a few gold medals in this sport. Cuba pretty much dominates the amateur world championships in just about every weight class. Because all sports in Cuba are operated on an amateur basis, Cuban boxers do not participate in lucrative professional bouts. As of 2010 Cuba holds 25 gold medals in boxing alone and looks forward to continuing to dominate the sport. Cuban cuisine is fusion of Spanish, African, and Caribbean cuisine. This makes for a unique and flavorful experience. The cooking technique is primarily Spanish and African while the Caribbean influence adds tropical spice. Another contributing factor to Cuban cuisine is the fact that Cuba is in a tropical climate. The tropical climate produces fruits and root vegetables that are used in Cuban dishes and meals. Also since Cuba is an Island, seafood is also very popular. Similar to a dish we prepare here in New Orleans, red beans and rice or black beans and rice, is a main dish in Cuba. It is either cooked together which is called “Congri” (red beans and rice) or “Moros” (black beans and rice) or it can be cooked separately called “Arroz con Frijoles.” Unlike your typical New Orleans red beans and rice, the Cuban dish is prepared a little differently although it does vary by region. In the eastern part of the Cuba region “arroz congri oriental” is the predominant rice and bean dish. White rice and red or black beans are cooked together with a sofrito and then baked in the oven. In Cuba they do also prepare beans and rice separately as a bean soup served with rice, which reminds us a lot of New Orleans. The seasonings they typically use are onion, garlic, bay leaf, and salt. Again each region has there own way of preparing it but this is the most common. For meat they primarily slow roast pork and serve it with a light sauce. A popular sauce used is called mojo. It is made with oil, garlic, onion, spices such as oregano and bitter orange or limejuice. The origin of Cuban mojo comes from the mojo sauces of the Canary Islands. The western region of Cuba even has some Chinese influence in their cooking. For example a popular dish called “sopa china” is an egg and onion soup. This can also be seen in the dish “arroz salteado” which is sautéed rice. There are many more soups, sandwiches and even pastries that make up Cuba’s wonderful cuisine. Cuba is a great place to visit and just like your locals in New Orleans, Cubans love to party and have a great time. They also strongly support their local baseball sports team. You can see some of the most beautiful rumba dresses, eat some of the best Cuban food available and probably still make it in time to a local celebration. Despite Cuba’s history, great people always bring the best out of a place and that’s what the people of Cuba have done. They allowed their culture of Spanish-African roots to live and thrive through their music, food, and clothing. The landscape has always been exotic with fruits and species that don’t exist anywhere else on the Earth. Cuba has now become a place of not if you will visit but when will you visit.
References:
http://www.realfooduniversity.com/the-traditional-diet-of-cuba/ http://thetastycubanfood.blogspot.com/p/history.html https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cu.html
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107443.html

References: http://www.realfooduniversity.com/the-traditional-diet-of-cuba/ http://thetastycubanfood.blogspot.com/p/history.html https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cu.html http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107443.html