Welcome to the Cuba Portal

Location of Cuba in the Caribbean
Republic of Cuba
República de Cuba (Spanish)

Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba, Isla de la Juventud, archipelagos, 4,195 islands and cays surrounding the main island. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and Atlantic Ocean meet. Cuba is located east of the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico), south of both the American state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Hispaniola (Haiti/Dominican Republic), and north of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Havana is the largest city and capital; other major cities include Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey. The official area of the Republic of Cuba is 109,884 km2 (42,426 sq mi) (without the territorial waters) but a total of 350,730 km2 (135,420 sq mi) including the exclusive economic zone. Cuba is the second-most populous country in the Caribbean after Haiti, with over 11 million inhabitants.

Cuba is one of a few extant Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist states, in which the role of the vanguard Communist Party is enshrined in the Constitution. Cuba has an authoritarian regime where political opposition is not permitted. Censorship is extensive and independent journalism is repressed; Reporters Without Borders has characterized Cuba as one of the worst countries for press freedom. Culturally, Cuba is considered part of Latin America. It is a multiethnic country whose people, culture and customs derive from diverse origins, including the Taíno Ciboney peoples, the long period of Spanish colonialism, the introduction of enslaved Africans and a close relationship with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. (Full article...)

Selected article - show another

Foreign tourist days in Cuba, 2010

Tourism in Cuba is an industry that generates over 4.7 million arrivals , 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 tourists. "Cuba treasures 253 protected areas, 257 national monuments, 7 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 7 Natural Biosphere Reserves and 13 Fauna Refuge among other non-tourist zones."

Having been Spain's closest colony to the United States until 1898, in the first part of the 20th century Cuba continued to develop with the influence of big investments, the creation of various industries, and growing travel to support mostly US interests and corporations. Its proximity (roughly 90 miles (140 km) from the Florida Keys) and close relationship to the United States also helped Cuba's market economy prosper fairly quickly. As relations between Cuba and the United States deteriorated rapidly after the Cuban Revolution of 1959 and the resulting expropriation and nationalisation of businesses, the island became cut off from its traditional market by an ongoing embargo and a travel ban was imposed on U.S. citizens visiting Cuba. The tourist industry declined to record low levels within two years of Castro's accession to power. (Full article...)
List of selected articles

General images

The following are images from various Cuba-related articles on Wikipedia.

Did you know (auto-generated)

Recognized content - show another

Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

Romero in November 2017.

John Raymond Rivera (born October 28, 1982), better known by his ring name Rocky Romero (ロッキー・ロメロ, Rokkī Romero), is a Cuban-American professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is a member of Chaos. He also makes appearances for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), and Major League Wrestling. Also known by his nickname "Azúcar (sugar in Spanish)", he is best known for his accomplishments as a tag team wrestler. He was member of tag teams like The Havana Pitbulls/Los Cubanitos, Forever Hooligans, and Roppongi Vice. His tenure as the fourth incarnation of Black Tiger was also met with praise and recognition.

Rivera made his in-ring debut on September 13, 1997, and, over the years, he portrayed several different characters including masked luchadores and has wrestled extensively in Mexico for both Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and Lucha Libre AAA World Wide. In the United States, he is known for his work with Ring of Honor as a member of No Remorse Corps, and was one of the featured wrestlers for Lucha Libre USA. (Full article...)

Selected biography - show another

Chori playing timbales, 1950.
Silvano Shueg Hechevarría (January 6, 1900 – April 1974), better known as Chori or Choricera, was a famous Cuban percussionist. He rose to prominence in the 1930s due to his extravagant shows at many nightclubs in Havana where he played timbales, drums, cowbells and objects such as bottles and metal pans. He composed the popular sones "La choricera" and "Ayaca de maíz", and appeared in several films in the 1950s. (Full article...)
List of selected biographies

Selected picture

Havana harbour in 1912
Havana harbour in 1912
Credit: C. E. Doty. Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs
View of Havana harbour, with vessels of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet in the distance. 1912.

More did you know - show different entries

More did you know... New articles...

Topics

Categories

Category puzzle
Category puzzle
Select [►] to view subcategories

Quote of the day

The concluding sentences of a four hour speech made by Fidel Castro in his own defense in court against the charges brought against him after leading an attack on the Moncada Barracks in 1953.

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:

Related portals

WikiProjects

Recognized content

Extended content

Featured articles

Good articles

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

More portals