Cubans are imaginative, cheerful, unprejudiced. They show a clear and joyful intelligence. Cubans are friends with jokes and parties and always have a smile on their face. The Cubans are communicative and conversational, but also know how to live their private lives. They are hospitable, educated, and worthy. “Open to the world, joyful to know the new to adjust it to their creative imagination, united and grouper since the revolutions of the past century, loyal to their experience and historic identity”. (Julio Le Riverend) Read more...
National Symbols of Cuba
Flag
The equilateral triangle alludes to the desire of freedom, equality and fraternity and its red color represents the spilled blood to conquer the independence. The lone star situated in the middle of the triangle symbolizes the absolute freedom. The three blue stripes represent the departments in which the island was divided into during the colonial era (Western, Central and Eastern) and the two white stripes mean the purity and virtuosity of the Cuban people.
Cuban Coat of Arms
It has the configuration of a hard leather ogival-shaped shield. In the top, a golden key symbolizes the position of Cuba, at the entrance of the Gulf of Mexico, in the Caribbean Sea and between the two Americas, while the rising sun represents the birth of a new nation. Three blue stripes in the left superior part allude to the three departments in which the country was divided into during the colonial time. In the right, the royal palm tree (symbol of the nobility and serene firmness of the Cuba, is located between the mountains and the blue sky, making a typical landscape of the island. An eleven-branch bundle that symbolizes the unity of the Cubans serves as the support for the shield, crowned by a red Phrygian cap with one white star. To the right of the coat of arms there’s an oak branch and to the left a bay branch, representing fortress and victory respectively.
National Anthem
The Cuban national anthem has music and lyrics composed by the patriot from Bayamo Pedro (Perucho) Figueredo. Its notes where performed for the first time on October 20, 1868, in the beginning of the independence wars, when the inhabitants of the Villa of San Salvador de Bayamo chose to set their city on fire before giving it to the colonial government.
National Attributes of Cuba
National Tree
The Royal Palm Tree. Although is not native from the country, it is common in the Cuban landscape. It symbolizes the unbreakable character of the Cuban.
National Bird
The Cuban trogon. Endemic species that reproduces in its feathers the colors of the National Flag.
National Flower
The Mariposa “butterfly”. Of white color and exquisite perfume, it used to adorn the hair of the peasant girls. Between its petals were hidden messages that contributed to the libertarian achievements.
Language
The official language in Cuba is Spanish, and because of the high level of education of the population, its use is correct and with a wide vocabulary of “cubanismos”. A good part of the population also speaks English, and the tourist sector speaks frequently speaks German, French, Italian and Russian.
In Cuba, from the Andalusian and popular forms, with Arhuaco and Sub Sahariano contributions, was formed a variation, unique and different at the same time, with the Spanish roots, and it has been recognized from the XIX century as a national identity factor. The Cuban Spanish is a variation of the language. We have to consider that there are some words that may have a different meaning than the usual in Spain and other Spanish speaking countries.
Cuban Population
Cuba has a density of more than 11 million of inhabitants, that according to poetess Nancy Morejón, have created an homogeneous nation starting with the heterogeneity of the nation itself and created more for a political purpose than for any cultural or racial controversy.
Cuba is a country of a highly advanced demographic transition. This means that its levels in the demographic variables, fundamentally when it comes to mortality and fertility, are very low. The above must be joined, and it constitutes a characteristic feature of the demographic Cuban process, the tending to homogenization achieved in its behavior, mainly in the last four decades, according to different social strata, territories, by zones and other characteristics.
The level of conditions that satisfy the necessities of the population, has enough influence on the demographic behavior and specially, the basic necessities as food, living place, clothes, peace, participation, communication, education, health; This means that those aspects are inserted in a new notion of security and of human development.
Cuban Population: 11, 167, 325 people.
Average age: 37 years.
Life expectancy: 79 years.
Men (49.9 %).
Women (50.1 %).
With the curse of history, the tendency to miscegenation has been ratified, but in the last times it has also been ratified a trend to the aging of the Cuban population.
Politic and Administrative Division
The Politic and Administrative Division of Cuba consists on an organization of the geographic space of the archipelago. Since 2012, the new division of 15 provinces (Pinar del Río, Artemisa, La Habana, Mayabeque, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Villa Clara, Santi Spíritus, Ciego de Ávila, Camagüey, Las Tunas, Holguín, Granma, Santiago de Cuba y Guantánamo) is assumed, with one special municipality: Isla de la Juventud.
State and Government
In the Republic of Cuba the sovereignty resides on the people, from which comes all the State power.
The National Assembly of Popular Power (ANPP by its Spanish acronym) is the supreme organ of the State power. It represents and express the sovereign will of the people. It’s the only organ Constituent and legislative power in the Republic.
The State Council is the organ of The National Assembly of Popular Power that represents it between one and other period of sessions, executes the agreements and fulfill the other functions that the Constitution gives it. Its character is collective and, for national and international purposes has the supreme representation of the Cuban State.
The Minister Council is the maximum executive and administrative organ and constitutes the Republic Government. The number, denomination and functions of the ministers and central organisms that take part of the Minister Council are determined by law.
The National Defense Council is constituted and prepared since times of peace to direct the country in the conditions of war state, during war, the general mobilization or the state of emergency. Its organization and functions are regulated by law.
Cuban Economy
At the end of the decade of the 50’s, Cuba presented an economic structure with some technology lag and lack of industrial development. The dynamism of production and the low investments were so many that the distribution of the resources revealed concentrated biases. During the period of 1959-1989 the product raised the annual average annual rate a 4% approximate and the economic politics assigned a relevant role to the State in the production of goods and services, with a predominance of the planning of the marketing mechanism and the regulation of economic activity. In this stage, the economy of Cuba experienced transcendent modifications of its productive bases, even when it repeated several common deficiencies of the socialist countries: Over sizing projects, incorporation of late technology and the lack of competitiveness. So during three decades Cuba was at the edge of huge transformations that were happening on occidental markets. Under cover of the arrangements with the socialist countries, Cuba counted with secure markets for its exportation, a favorable relationship of exchange (at least at the eighties); and a generous financing from the balance of payments. With notorious inefficiencies the stock of goods of the capital was incremented and the physical infrastructure was expanded; it expanded the capacity of the water reservoirs, the railroad network was modernized and highways, roads and lanes were built. Progress was made in the electrification of the country. Strong investment was made in human resources development, particularly on health, education, culture and sport sectors. The high social content of the economic politics allowed substantial advances on basic services to the population, such as the formation of labor resources with increasing qualifications.
Health System in Cuba
The primary attention system supported by the secondary and tertiary levels, such as municipal hospitals, provincial hospitals, national hospitals and the investigations institutions conform a regionalized structure that creates a interrelation between them, guaranteeing the resources of all the system in an optimum an rational form. It should be noted that as part of the strategy of development of public health, they give prioritized attention to vital objects of the system such as optical services, stomatology and pharmacies. Besides, Cuba has an Integral Program of Health that since the ending of the nineties has been within disposal of the international community and of the World Health Organization (WHO) and is part of the help that the country provides with the sending of health professionals to different countries in the world to offer an Integral medical care to the most disadvantaged population.
Education
The National System of Education in Cuba is designed as a set of educational levels and types of teaching. The elementary level groups the kindergarten and elementary education. The secondary level includes the basic high school, the pre university and technical and professional education. The third level has the higher education. It is acknowledged the right of the population to receive the education services of all different institutions for free, and this is one of the biggest achievements of the social Cuban model.
About Childhood
Cuba’s childhood is the biggest priority. The Cuban State has showed a strong political will to guarantee the correct development and wealth of the childhood. Cuban infants enjoy benefits in health, education, culture, sport and laws (culture of rights), which generates international recognition.
Different data and investigations show the high level of protection and development that Cuban boys, girls and teenagers have, especially regarding the educational coverage and the mother-children health relationship.
Sports
Cuba boosts and promotes the excellency in sports. This is due to the people and has a big part of its social conquers. Cuba develops physic and recreational activities that contribute to the individual and social growth. It’s based on the use of highly-qualified human resources and on the application of the science and technological innovation.
Baseball is considered the Cuban national sport.
Culture
Many cultures engendered one new culture in Cuba. Fusions of races and customs, in a process of several centuries, gave place to a new unique culture with African, aboriginal, Chinese, French and of course Spanish, all in a unique mixture and at the same time with a huge wealth.
From the first settlers expressions and indigenous names survived; to the unjust treatment to blacks and slavery owns the strong African presence, along with the Spanish, and form the vision to the world and the popular imaginary. One and other influence have marked the music, dance, rituals, traditions, customs and Cuban celebrations. Just as the sugar is brown, dun and white, as stated the poet Pablo Armando Fernández, the Cuban culture is a mixture influenced by multiple nationalities. A transcultural “ajiaco”, as stated by Don Fernando Ortiz conformed for a halfblooded population that inherited and maintains all the components without being one or the other, but, amen to the heterogeneity, just Cuban.
Cuban Religion
Officially Cuba is a Lay State and recognizes the right of the Cuban people to practice any religious creed. As its culture, the Cuban Religion is a mixture where the syncretism is present. On one side, the Spanish conqueror not only imposes his culture, language, civilization but also his religion, the Catholicism, which maintains its positions, even after Cuban Independence and until today.
On consequence of the prolonged slavery behavior over the centuries, during the colonial age several religious manifestations were introduced in Cuba, according to the different towns that came from Africa. Derivative of the yoruba culture the Regla Ocha, popularly known as Santeria, was generated. Another expression of African origin, located only in the occidental zone of the country, is the secret male group Abakuá, also known as Ñañiguismo, born in the beginning of the past century.
The Hispanic and the African constitute the two main ethnocultural roots of Cuban nationality. It also gathers other cultures (Caribbean, North American, Chinese and the rest of Europe), with a complex process of transculturation and miscegenation.
Spiritism came to Cuba at midway of the past century and began to diversify in many slopes, mixed with elements of African and Christian origin and with a clear reference to the daily life.
Cuban Protestantism, Judaism and Freemasonry are other of the religious expressions that are practiced in the territory.