Cuban culture is much influenced by the fact that it is a mixture of varieties. Sports are a big part of the Cuban culture. Baseball in Cuba is by far the most popular; other sports and pastimes in Cuba include basketball, volleyball and athletics. Cuba is the dominant force in amateur boxing, consistently achieving high gold medal tallies in major international competitions.
Cuban music is very rich and is the most commonly known expression of culture. Who isn't familiar with salsa, rumba and mambo. The Tres was also invented in Cuba, but other traditional Cuban instruments are of African and/or Taíno origin such as the maracas, güiro, marímba and other wooden drums including the mayohuacan. Popular Cuban music of all styles has been enjoyed and praised widely across the world. Cuban classical music, which includes music with strong African and European influences.
Cuban literature began to find its voice in the early 19th century. Dominant themes of independence and freedom were exemplified by José Martí, who led the Modernist movement in Cuban literature. Writers such as Nicolás Guillén and Jose Z. Tallet focused on literature as social protest. The poetry and novels of José Lezama Lima have also been influential. Writers such as Reinaldo Arenas, Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Leonardo Padura Fuentes, and Ronaldo Menedez have earned international recognition in the postrevolutionary era, though many writers have felt compelled to continue their work in exile due to perceived censorship by the Cuban authorities.
Cuban cuisine is a fusion of Spanish and Caribbean cuisines. Cuban recipes share spices and techniques with Spanish cooking, with some Caribbean influence in spice and flavor. A traditional Cuban meal would not be served in courses; rather all food items would be served at the same time. The typical meal could consist of plantains, black beans and rice, ropa vieja (shredded beef), Cuban bread, pork with onions, and tropical fruits. Black beans and rice, referred to as moros and plantains are staples of the Cuban diet. Many of the meat dishes are cooked slowly with light sauces. Garlic, cumin, oregano and bay leaves are the dominant spices.

For some great recipes try this website!

http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/7035/cuba.html

Cuba has offered inspiration and passion to many. The well known author Ernest Hemingway made his home in Cuba from where he withdrew many of his most aspiring work.

People did sometimes ask Hemingway why he chose to live in Cuba. Late in 1948 he wrote an article for Holiday magazine in which he talked about his life there, offering his readers verbal snapshots of cool mornings at the Finca, cockfights and pigeon shoots, but most importantly the incomparable marlin fishing in the Gulf Stream, which he lovingly called "the Great Blue River." On one level his late novella The Old Man And The Sea could be read as a tribute to the Gulf Stream. The following is an exerpt from his Islands In The Stream :
He got into the car and told the chauffeur to go up O'Reilly to the Floridita. Before the car circled the plaza in front of the embassy building and the Ayuntamiento and then turned into O'Reilly he saw the size of the waves in the mouth of the harbor and the heavy rise and fall of the channel buoy. In the mouth of the harbor the sea was very wild and confused and clear green water was breaking over the rock at the base of the Morro, the tops of the seas blowing white in the sun.
It looks wonderful, he said to himself. It not only looks wonderful, it is wonderful.

My grandfather is a real inspiration to me. After moving down to Miami with his family, he continued working mediocre jobs earning a very low income. When he was in his fifties he came upon an ingenious idea. He created La Caja China and began building his invention in the warehouse of a family member. La Caja China is well known through out Miami, and has become a tradition during Christmas for my family and for many other Cuban families. It has been featured on the Food Network channel more than once and ships out through out the U.S and other countries. My grandfather is an inspiration to me because he is an example of someone that followed their dreams and overcame many obstacles. He proved that it is never too late to go after your dreams, and that if you have enough perseverance and vision then the sky is the limit.

If you limit your decisions only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want and all that is left is a compromise.

My grandfather was born in Cuba and moved to the U.S in the 1960's. His life is a typical rag to riches story. When he moved here with his family, which is my mom, uncle and grandmother; they lived in New Jersey with family members while my grandfather worked two jobs washing dishes. My grandmother would sew clothe and also worked at a factory. They eventually saved enough money to some buy new furniture pieces and moved down to South Carolina. On the way, the truck that was taking their furniture caught fire and all of their belongings were burned. My mom recalls how hurt she felt when she witnessed the burning of their prized possessions, they managed however to savor some pieces but because of their lack of income she still had to sleep in her scorched bed. After some time however, they moved down to Miami.

History of Cuba

The Cuban population is a wonderful melting pot of ethnic mixes from every corner of the world. In the early days slaves cross bread with masters creating the mulattos of today. Later, people of Russian, Chinese and European decent created the make up of today's Cuba. Cuba is the most populous country in the Caribbean. Cuba was a Spanish possession for 388 years, ruled by a governor in Havana, with an economy based on plantation agriculture and the export of sugar, coffee and tobacco to Europe and later to North America. It was seized by the British in 1762, but restored to Spain the following year. Fidel Castro became Prime Minister of Cuba in February 1959, and has held effective power in the country until temporarily handing it over to his brother, Raul Castro, for medical reasons in July 2006.