Cuba. The name alone conjures up
images of beautiful women, dashing men, smoldering cigars and savory
dishes.
All true, and luckily Cuba is no
longer forbidden territory. More than 10
major airlines have direct flights to Cuba,
and there is even a brand new
US-owned hotel on the island.
Havana is once again open for business.
To Celebrate Cuba, The Latina Book Club has put together some fun
facts. How many do you know?###
FUN FACTS ABOUT CUBA
- Cuba is 90 miles from Miami.
- It’s the largest island in the Caribbean.
- Fidel Castro took over the country in 1959.
- Baseball is the most popular sport in Cuba and yet by National Decree 83a, passed in 1962, professional sports are illegal.
- As of 2013, Cuba has nine sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
- The Manjuari fish can only be found in Cuba.
- Ernest Hemingway wrote THE OLD MAN & THE SEA and FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS while living in Cuba.
- There is a John Lennon Park in Cuba, complete with statue.
- Cuba has over 200 bays and 250 beaches to explore.
- Cuba holds one of the highest literacy rates in the world at 99.8%. Education is free to all Cuban citizens.
- Cuba has two currencies – one for tourists, one for natives.
- The island looks like an alligator from the air.
- The Soviet Union had transferred over 150 nuclear weapons to Cuba by the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1961.
- Cuban cigars are known as the finest cigars in the world. They are hand crafted with homegrown tobacco.
- Voting in Cuba is mandatory.
- Cuba was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492.
- Pope John Paul II visited the island in January 1998.
- Cuba has the best health care systems anywhere in the world and so many doctors that they are often sent to other countries that have shortages.
- In the 2008 Olympics, Cuba won 24 medals.
- Spanish is the official language on the island, but a lot of Cubans speak English.
Check out our “Cuban” Book of the Month: THE SKINNY YEARS by Raul Ramos y Sanchez by
clicking here. And, get your free recipe
ebook with savory dishes featured in the story.
And click here to find books by or about Cubans everyone should
know.
CELEBRATE CUBA!
READ LATINO!
