videoinside.org | Portal:Cuba

The Cuba Portal

Shortcut: P:CUBA

Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba (Spanish: Cuba or República de Cuba, IPA: [re'puβlika ðe ˈkuβa]), consists of the island of Cuba (the largest of the Greater Antilles), the Isle of Youth and adjacent small islands. Cuba is located in the northern Caribbean at the confluence of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Cuba is south of the eastern United States and the Bahamas, west of the Turks and Caicos Islands and Haiti and east of Mexico. The Cayman Islands and Jamaica are to the south.

Cuba is the most populous country in the Caribbean. Its culture and customs draw from several sources including the aboriginal Taíno and Ciboney peoples, the period of Spanish colonialism, the introduction of African slaves, years of close ties to the Soviet Union, and its proximity to the United States. The island has a tropical climate that is moderated by the surrounding waters; the warm currents of the Caribbean Sea and its location between water bodies also make Cuba prone to frequent hurricanes.

More about Cuba...

Show new selections

edit

Selected article

The Plaza Mayor in Trinidad, Cuba, is the historic centre of the town, declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988. The buildings surrounding the central square date from the 18th and 19th centuries when trade in sugar from the nearby Valle de los Ingenios and slaves, brought great riches to the area. Many of the buildings surrounding the central square belonged to the wealthy landowners of the city. When the trade in sugar diminished and the slave trade ended in the mid-19th century, Trinidad became a backwater and because little building work was carried until the 1950s many of the historic buildings and streets were preserved, especially the grand constructions in the immediate vicinity of the Plaza Mayor. Today, most of the houses surrounding the square are home to museums.

The colonial houses of Trinidad are typified by red terracotta tiled roofs supported out beyond the walls by wooden beams. Pastel-coloured paintwork for the houses is normal with wood and plasterwork details picked out in different colours to the brickwork.

...Archive • Nominate

Read more...

edit

Selected picture

Credit: DirkvdM

A state hotel in Cienfuegos

...Archive • Nominate

Read more...

edit

Did you know...

... that the United States, aided by Cuban forces, captured Guantánamo Bay (pictured) from the Spanish on June 10 1898, during the Spanish-American war?

...that when the Banking sector in Cuba came under the control of the new regime after the Cuban revolution of 1959, Fidel Castro asked if there were an economista in the room during an inaugural meeting? And that Che Guevara put his hand up mistakenly believing the request was for a communista, and subsequently became President of the National Bank of Cuba?

...that Carlos Varela is a singer-songwriter of nueva trova, who used to perform in Havana's parks and private patios until Silvio Rodriguez "discovered" him, bringing his music to international prominence?

...that the International School of Havana was founded in 1965 by Phyllis Powers, a British expatriate, to educate the children of diplomatic staff?

...that there have been five Cuban constitutions since the nation attained its independence from Spain?

Archive • Nominate

New articles...

edit

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:

Task list

New article announcements
Requests: Sport in Cuba, Carlos Alzugarai, Jules Loustalot, Enrique Quintana, Moisés Boudé, Domingo Romeo Jaime, Oscar Poey Bonachea, Virgilio Morales Díaz, José Borrel Tudurí, Celina Cardoso, Angel Loustalot
Stubs: Dollar store (Cuba), Celia Sánchez, Yoani Sánchez
Verify: History of Cuba, Fulgencio Batista
Update: Nochebuena
NPOV: History of Cuba, Delfin Fernandez, Armando Valladares
Copyedit: Bay of Pigs invasion, Julio Antonio Mella, Fabio Grobart, Armando Peraza
Wikify: Cha-cha-cha
Merge:
Cleanup: Bay of Pigs invasion, History of Cuba, Escambray Revolt, Abelardo Colomé Ibarra, List of Cubans, Máximo Gómez, Antonio Maceo Grajales
Style: Fidel Castro
Expand: Cuban-Soviet relations, Baseball in Cuba, Religion in Cuba, Havana's International Book Fair, Cuba-Venezuela relations, Antonio Sánchez de Bustamante y Sirven

edit

In the news

Wikinews Cuba portal

...Archive

More Current events

on Wikinews...

edit

Selected biography

Manuel Urrutia Lleó (8 December 1901, Las Villas Province, Cuba–5 July 1981 New York) was a Cuban lawyer and politician. Urrutia campaigned against the Gerardo Machado government and the second presidency of Fulgencio Batista during the 1950s, before serving as Cuban president in the first revolutionary government of 1959. After only six months, Urrutia resigned his position due to a series of disputes with revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, emigrating to the United States shortly after.