Overview of Cuba

Cuba is located in the Caribbean on the westernmost part of the West Indies. To the north are Jamaica and the Bahamas, and to the south are the Cayman Islands and Haiti. Havana, on the northwest coast, is 90 miles from Florida’s Key West, while the Pinar del Rio Province on the west coast is 130 miles from Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Cuba, an island of 42,803 square miles, is the largest island in the Caribbean and the fifteenth largest island in the world. Cuba also lays claim to a small island, Isla de la Juventud, and some 4200 coral cays and islets. Mountain ranges separate the country into three regions ( ).

When Columbus reached Cuba in 1492, some 50,000 Indians, primarily fishermen and hunters, occupied the island. The island was conquered for the Spanish crown, and seven settlements were founded. In the early sixteenth century, the first Black slaves from Africa arrived in Cuba. These slaves were primarily Yoruba, from the southwestern part of Nigeria. The slaves brought aspects of their culture that are still present in food, music, and practices of spiritualism. Chinese workers were also brought to work in the sugarcane fields. Some of these workers were able to earn enough money to start their own businesses and married women from other ethnic groups, particularly criollo women (Spaniards born in the New World). Except for the British occupation of Havana in 1762–1763, Cuba remained under control of Spain until 1898. An economy driven by the slave-based sugar plantations was aided by mechanization of milling. Sugar continues to be the chief product and chief export to this day.

Despite numerous uprisings throughout the 1800s, Cuba remained under Spanish rule until José Martí, a Cuban national hero, championed a revolution in 1895. At that time the United States joined the international protest over Spain’s treatment of Cuba. In 1898 the United States officially declared war on Spain in response to the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana. The Spanish–American War resulted in the defeat of Spain, and Cuba was granted its independence. During that period, an agreement was struck between the United States and Cuba that has had long-lasting effects in the minds of many exiled Cuban Americans. More specifically, according to the Platt Amendment to the Cuban constitution, the United States agreed to provide a military presence on the island to assist in maintaining the governmental stability initiated by the revolution. The U.S. peacekeepers remained in Cuba until 1934. However, a 99-year lease permits the United States to maintain a strategic naval base at Guantánamo Bay, on the southeast side of Cuba. To this day, many exiled Cuban Americans find comfort in knowing that the U.S. military (whom many Cubans and Cuban Americans perceive as anti-Castro) still resides on the island.

In 1952, Fulgencio Batista seized control of the government, and a harsh dictatorship was established. However, Batista was overthrown in 1959, when Fidel Castro and a rebel band seized control. With Castro serving as the official head of state, sweeping economic and socialistic changes were initiated, and a system of cooperatives was instituted. Cattle, tobacco lands, banks, and other American interests were nationalized, with little provision for compensation to their former owners. Subsequently, relations with the United States were broken off, and a trade embargo, which remains in effect, was initiated. Poor sugar crops and the embargo further damaged the economy, and, in spite of aid from Communist countries, rationing practices were enacted. While civil unrest and various efforts to overthrow the regime occurred, Castro maintained control. In 1962, the United States discovered that the Soviet Union had brought nuclear missiles into Cuba. After a stern ultimatum from President John F. Kennedy on October 22, the missiles were removed. In 1967, in an overture to enhance relations, the United States and Cuba signed an agreement to exchange diplomats and to regulate offshore fishing. However, full ties were not restored, and some sanctions continued.

Throughout the 1970s and much of the 1980s, Cuba enjoyed the financial and political support of many Communist countries. Steady economic growth and advances were made in social security, public health, and education. However, the economy was severely hampered by the collapse of the Communist bloc in the late 1980s and the subsequent withdrawal of Soviet subsidies, worth $4 to $6 billion annually ( ). Increased trade sanctions by the United States also contributed to a deteriorating economic situation throughout the early 1990s. Trade sanctions were tightened even further in 1996, after two aircraft operated by an anti-Castro exile group based in Miami were shot down by Cuban Air Force pilots off the shores of Cuba. In an apparent humanitarian effort, Pope John Paul II visited Cuba in 1998 and called for an end to the U.S. economic sanctions. The pope urged Castro to release political prisoners and increase political and religious freedom. A softening of relations did occur, and sanctions were eased in 1999.

Cuba again made international news in 2000, when a Cuban child, Elián González, survived a capsized boat accident and was rescued off the Florida coast. After a 7-month legal battle, the U.S. government agreed, over the protestations of his relatives and the Cuban-American community in Miami, to return Elián to his father in Cuba ( ). This decision by the U.S. government led to subsequent changes. These included the passage of a bill allowing food and medicine sales to Cuba, somewhat relaxed travel regulations that allowed more Cuban Americans to visit Cuba, and Castro’s decision to spend $120 million over a specified period to purchase food and agricultural products from key farm states. These actions energized pro-Cuba attitudes in the U.S. Congress, and the lifting of the trade embargo became a topic of debate ( ). The U.S. government tightened travel restrictions significantly in 2004 and again in 2006, allowing Cuban Americans to return to the island only once every 3 years instead of every year and restricting the amount of U.S. cash that can be spent there to $50 per day. In response, Cuba banned the use of dollars, which had been legal currency in the country for more than a decade ( ; ).

In 2006, Fidel Castro began transferring many powers over to his brother, Raul, because of personal illness. In February 2008, Fidel Castro formally resigned from office, ending an almost 50-year rule. Despite renewed U.S. economic interest in Cuba and some policy shifts under President Barack Obama (including legal travel to Cuba by students, churches, and cultural groups), experts agree that normalization of U.S.–Cuban relations was unlikely in the near future ( ). But when the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was elected as Pope Francis in March 2013, he reached out to American President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro in hopes of mending the diplomatic relations between the two countries. The Pope personally followed up and offered to mediate between the two countries as they held secret talks that spanned 18 months ( ). On December 17, 2014, Presidents Obama and Castro announced a deal to restore diplomatic relations and the liberalization of travel and remittances between their respective countries ( ).

Although the Obama administration would like to normalize relations with Cuba, there are still major hurdles to overcome. The president would like to lift the trade embargo, move Cuba toward democracy, and increase diplomatic presence in Cuba. But Congress is not likely to lift the embargo soon, and Cuba appears to have the goal of maintaining the status quo while maximizing the economic gain of the agreement and to be removed from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list ( ).

In 2014, Cuba had a population of 11,047,251 residents, representing ethnic groups that include mulatto and mestizo (26.6%), Black African (9.3%), and White (64.1%) ( ; ). The population was growing annually at a rate of 0.22% until 2008, when it began decreasing slightly ( ). Cuba has an aging population; 19.6% are over the age of 60 years, and this percentage is growing as the birthrate remains low ( ). Havana has a population of 2.116 million people. Some 75% of the Cuban population is urban, with a population density of 262 per square mile ( ).

The island has 2500 miles of coastline. Low hills and fertile valleys cover more than half of the country, with 24% arable land. The chief crops include sugarcane, tobacco, rice, coffee, and citrus. There are 6000 plant species in Cuba, and land fauna includes crocodiles, lizards, and 15 species of snakes ( ; ; ). Other resources include timber, cobalt, nickel, iron, copper, manganese, and salt. Pharmaceutical production is another source of Cuban development. More than 1000 people work at Cuba’s Genetic Engineering and Biotechnological Center in Havana. Cuba’s biotechnical products and technology currently reach markets in more than 40 countries and generate about $100 million annually ( ). The labor force of Cuba is 23% agricultural and 53% services. The gross domestic product is U.S. $72.3 billion, with a per capita gross domestic product of U.S. $10,200 ( ). Major trading partners are Canada, China, Venezuela, the Netherlands, and Spain and a major shift away from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea ( ).

The tourism income is $1.846 billion ( ), and numerous travel guides outline opportunities in Cuba (e.g., ) as a vacation spot for cycling, travel, hiking, and swimming. Cuba is advertised as the Caribbean’s largest and least commercialized island. The relative political isolation has prevented it from being overrun with tourists, a selling point used to promote Cuban travel in Canada and Europe ( ). The peak tourist time is in the dry season from December to April, when planeloads of Canadians and Europeans arrive to enjoy the sun and beaches. Christmas, Easter, and the period around July 26 (the anniversary of the revolution) are also peak tourist times. The hotter wet season lasts from May to October and is also the time when hurricanes are most prevalent. The average annual temperature is 75° F.

Many Cuban citizens are experiencing an easing of political and religious restrictions. On the other hand, Cubans currently get by on an average monthly income in pesos equal to $8 to $20 a month, and state-rationing exacts a daily struggle ( ; ). Cubans use their monthly income and ration cards for subsistence items in government peso stores in order to purchase rice, sugar, peas, cooking oil, tobacco, coffee, beans, and soap. Children under 7 may receive milk, some eggs, and meat, but otherwise meat and vegetables are not available at the government peso store. Other goods, including meat and more expensive items, are available at state-run stores. Many Cubans receive money from family members in other countries or a private income from pedaling bicycle rickshaws for tourists, running gypsy cabs, engaging in black market sales, opening small cafés in their homes, or renting rooms ( ). There is less poverty in Havana than in rural areas, since in Havana enterprising individuals can more easily supplement their peso income with personal and tourist-related enterprises.

Despite the U.S. embargo and the challenges faced after the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba has produced better health outcomes than most Latin American countries ( ; ). In Cuba, the median age is 37.8 years; the life expectancy is 77.2 years for males and 81.2 years for females; and there are 11.02 births per 1000 and 7.29 deaths per 1000. The infant mortality rate is 4.5 per 1000. The number of persons in Cuba with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immunodeficiency virus (AIDS) is 3300 (>0.1%). There are 67.2 physicians per 10,000 inhabitants ( ; ). Cuba spends 10.0% of the gross domestic product on health care, significantly less than the United States (17.9%) and most European countries. The positive health outcomes are probably more related to the focus on health and prevention of disease than on the amount of money spent ( ; ).

Immigration to the United States

Opportunities in the tobacco industry in Tampa and Miami between 1895 and 1905 resulted in the establishment of small, tight Cuban communities in these Florida cities ( ; ). By settling within these communities, it became possible for these Cubans to retain a strong ethnic identity and maintain cultural values and practices. Another wave of immigrants came to the United States in the 1940s and 1950s for jobs related to military production and because increased trade and commerce between the United States and Cuba facilitated immigration.

When Castro assumed control in 1959, opponents were imprisoned or executed. Lack of promised liberties and the threat of Communist rule caused many middle- and upper-class individuals who had supported the Castro regime to immigrate to Miami, Tampa, and New York, thus expanding already existing Cuban settlements. It is estimated that, in the initial years of rule by Castro, some 700,000 Cubans emigrated, primarily to the United States ( ). It is significant to note that many of these individuals had grown accustomed to receiving high-quality health care as a result of their socioeconomic status prior to Castro’s revolution. In contrast, some later immigrants who did not hold middle- and upper-class positions prior to the revolution were not accustomed to being benefactors of health care and did not come to the United States with the expectation of high-quality health care.

In 1978, as a result of pleas for liberation, Castro agreed to release political prisoners to the United States. Some 120,000 Cubans immigrated in 1980 in what was referred to as the Mariel Boat Lift ( ; ). It was later determined that among these immigrants were mentally ill patients and criminals. Some of the criminals remained in jails in the United States until 1987, when Castro agreed to take back some 2500 Cuban prisoners. The 1987 agreement allowed 20,000 Cubans to immigrate to the United States each year. Many were relatives of those already in the United States. Cuban Americans represent one of the few minority groups in the United States who are predominantly refugees, not immigrants, many of them professionals and entrepreneurs.

In the 1990s, Cubans, desperate to get out of Cuba, increasingly tried to bypass the immigration regulations and make their way to Florida on small boats. Finally, in 1994, demonstrations against the Cuban government prompted loosening of the immigration restrictions, and a United States–Cuba accord was signed to end the illegal and dangerous exodus of “boat people.” In 1995, U.S. policy shifted again with the announcement that 20,000 Cuban refugees held at the Guantánamo base would be admitted to the United States; however, any more boat people caught fleeing the island would be sent back to Cuba ( ). By 1999, it was estimated that 1550 Cubans had been repatriated under the immigration agreement ( ). Nevertheless, illicit migration to the United States using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, or falsified visas continues. In 2013, it was estimated that 14,251 Cubans crossed the straits to Florida and set foot on U.S. soil, with only 25% being deterred by the U.S. Coast Guard ( ).

In 2010, 1.8 million people of Cuban descent were residing in the United States ( ). The largest number of Hispanics in Florida are Cuban American ( ). In a relatively short time, Cubans have been able to advance economically and obtain a higher standard of living in the United States than other Hispanic groups. Compared with other Hispanic groups, Cuban Americans have higher average educational attainment, larger family incomes, and lower poverty rates ( ). For example, in 2011 the median annual individual income was $24,400, higher than the median earnings for all U.S. Hispanics ($20,000) but lower than the median earnings for the U.S. population ($29,000) ( ).

Many Cuban Americans maintain the political stance of exiles waiting for Fidel Castro, and now his brother, to die or be overthrown ( ). In fact, many identify themselves as “Cuban” despite having been born in the United States ( ). investigated “feelings of being American” among White-American, African-American, and Cuban-American women. In contrast to other groups, Cuban Americans reported neither feeling they were American nor believing that they were perceived as such by White Americans. However, feelings of inclusion increased with length of residence. The majority of the Cuban Americans in Miami-Dade County tend to be conservative, Republican, and anticommunist, though there may be a change away from the Republican party in the future ( ).

In spite of their exiled history, Cubans have tended to make the necessary adjustments to fit into the United States, preferring to use dialoguing, rather than resorting to violence, to address Cuba’s problems. The retention of cultural values and practices from their Cuban heritage has not diminished and in some cases would appear to have enhanced success in the United States as musicians, poets, athletes (particularly in the sport of baseball), and business executives ( ; ).

It is noteworthy that Cuban Americans have become successful in politics. Today, the Miami Cuban Americans are a powerful political force in the United States. Approximately 90% of Miami-Dade County Cuban Americans are registered to vote ( ). It has even been suggested that the impact of sending Elián González back to Cuba influenced the defeat of the Democratic party in the 2000 election in Florida since the presidential nominee, George W. Bush, opposed sending Gonzalez home and thus received strong support in Florida ( ).

Communication

Spanish is the official language of Cuba, although Cubans often shorten words by dropping letters. The accent and some expressions are similar to the Spanish of Andalusia, although the accents tend to vary by the three main regions of Cuba ( ; ). Cuban Spanish has an African influence and also incorporates some words from the Taino Indians and some English words ( ). Today, English is a required course in secondary schools and is increasingly learned by persons interested in the tourist industry.

identified that not speaking English is a significant problem for some first-generation Cubans in the United States. However, second-generation Cubans are more likely to speak both Spanish and English. However, unlike other non-English immigrant groups, Spanish is more likely to still be spoken in the home, within the Cuban community, and by elderly persons who do not have much reason to interact with an English-speaking community. Many Cuban Americans have incorporated English words into spoken Spanish ( ).

A common greeting among Cuban men entails a firm handshake. Handshakes are often used when entering or leaving a home or greeting a group. On the other hand, women tend to kiss each other once on the cheek and offer a verbal greeting. Kissing on the cheek can be observed between younger members of the opposite sex. Elderly people are greeted with gestures indicative of respect.

Cubans commonly address others by first names. Among friends or co-workers, nicknames may be used. Strangers may address each other using the word Companero / Companera (Comrade), Señor (Mr.) or Señora (Mrs.). Common verbal greetings include “Buenos días!” (Good morning), “Buenas tardes!” (Good afternoon), and “Buenas noches!” (Good evening). “Buenas” (hello) is commonly used as a greeting when passing another on the street, while “Hasta luego!” (So long) is used in parting ( ).

Nonverbal communication by Cubans includes use of hand gestures when talking to reinforce ideas and emotions. Conversation is lively and frequently loud and forceful. Most Cubans consider maintaining eye contact important, particularly in formal situations. Some Cuban individuals consider lack of eye contact a sign of insincerity or perhaps spite. Beckoning may occur by waving fingers inward with the palm down. Holding a palm up when beckoning is considered a hostile gesture ( ). Silence can mean uncertainty or awkwardness.

Music has been an integral part of Cuban culture since the African slaves brought rhythms and ritual dances from the Santeria religion. Over time, rhythms and dances were blended with Spanish guitars and melodies. In the 1920s, much of the United States was enamored of rumba rhythms, which became fused with jazzy horn sections into big-band sounds. Cuban music is a combination of instruments including guitars, tres (a small Cuban stringed instrument with three pairs of strings), double bass, bongos, claves, maracas, and voice. Mambo, bolero, salsa, and cha-cha-cha music also have contributed to the popularity of Cuban music today ( ).

Space

Cubans tend to stand close to others when talking. Touching or tapping another person may be done to make a point. In the United States, Cubans have tended to choose to live in tight communities, close to other Cubans. This facilitates a high level of identity with Cuban culture. When persons in the family are sick or in need, when possible, other family members will physically appear as a means of support. Cubans may take advantage of the travel authorized by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which allows persons to travel to Cuba to visit close relatives ( ).

Social Organization