Emigration from Cuba (sometimes referred to as ‘the Cuban exodus’) in the last half century has led more than two million Cubans of all social classes to the United States, and to Spain, Mexico, Canada, Sweden, and other countries. Seeking to normalize migration between the two countries, particularly after the chaos that accompanied the Mariel boatlift, Cuba and the United States in 1994 agreed, in what is commonly called the 1994 Clinton-Castro accords to limit emigration to the United States. The United States grants a specific number of visas to those wishing to emigrate; 20,000 have been granted since 1994. Cubans picked up at sea trying to emigrate without a visa are returned to Cuba while those that make it to US soil are allowed to seek asylum.
Parts of the Cuban constitution
Cuban constitution states that: Cuba is an independent and sovereign socialist state [Article 1] … Cuban state name is the Republic of Cuba [Article 238].
Cuba’s constitution lays down rules for the system jednopartyjnego (although this is permitted the existence of other political parties, which, however, have a marginal impact on policy, and often their roles meet trade unions) Noting also the Communist Party of Cuba (…) is the highest guiding force of society and the State .
The Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and assembly, but the Cuban Constitution Article 62 states: none of the freedoms granted to citizens can not be used against (…) existence and objectives of the socialist state, or against the decision of the People of Cuba on the construction of socialism and communism. Violations of this policy may be punished by law.
Cuba – residents
Cuba as part of a new wicekrólestwa Spain has been deprived of autonomy. Among the nearly 11 million inhabitants of the island is no longer the children of its native people – Arawak. Today’s carving is first and foremost a najeźdźców and murzyńskich descendants of slaves brought from Africa to work on a number of local plantations of sugar cane, tobacco and coffee. Official language is Spanish in Cuba, although the schools also teach English. Racial and ethnic groups occurring on the island mulaci (51%), white (37%), Black (11%) and Chinese (1%). In 1992, Fidel Castro led to changes in the constitution to allow private economic activity and the freedom to practice religion. Many Christians are members of the Cuban Roman Catholic church, although not on the island and there is no Jehovah’s Witnesses and representatives of other faiths. Local popular religion of Santeria is a mixture of specific animistycznych Yoruba beliefs, elements of worship and rites of the Roman Voodoo – Catholic. Cuban culture is a reason for pride tubylców. They are very closely connected with their traditions and customs. All tourists who are interested should visit the local museums. Diego Velázquez and other Spanish konkwistadorzy founded seven of the most important cities on the island:
• Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion de Baracoa,
• San Salvador de Bayamo,
• Santiago de Cuba,
• Santa Maria del Puerto del Principe (today known as Camagüey)
• Sancti Spiritus,
• Trinidad,
• San Cristóbal de La Habana (Havana).
Traveling to each of them an opportunity to come into contact with unique local music, dance and visual arts, which have not been without impact on the world cultural heritage. On the island held a number of festival events associated with ballet, film and other fields of art. Cubans are tourists friendship, love dancing and music. Sounds familiar with the repertoire of Buena Vista Social Club, you can hear here on almost every street corner.
Education
Education in Cuba is free and there is a 9-year compulsory education. Cuba has a tripartite education system from elementary, middle and high school there.
Cuba’s education system is among the best in Latin America and both before, and after the revolution [35]. 2001, the Cuban students at the fourth and fifth grade in a test of UNESCO far ahead of other Latin American countries. The enrollment rate is 100 percent, illiteracy goes to zero. After the UNESCO Education for All Development Index, Cuba belongs to the highly developed countries in the world in the field of education with a well-educated population .
In recent years, however, is becoming an increasingly acute shortage of teachers. Many teachers work, despite its good training, as well as numerous doctors and other high-skilled, better in the tourism sector, because only the tip a multiple of a Cuban content. Cuba also gives many teachers as compensation for subsidized oil from Venezuela, to various friendly countries of Latin America in order to build a functioning education system to help. This teacher shortage, the Cuban government with so-called “emergency teachers”, 16 – to 18-year-old school leavers, in crash courses on their tasks and be prepared through tele classes, so lessons via video cassette, to compensate. Furthermore, even retired teachers back into the active teachers are lured .
The school is for boys in the service vormilitärischer training, older students learn how to deal with weapons. The teachers have a year each student and his parents after the political orientation and political activities, writing judge.
The study in Cuba is free, however, all students after graduation three years for the State a social service without pay. In Cuba is the proportion of women among students is higher than in any other Latin American country. Just cut Cuban students performed better than their fellow students in Latin America in the fields of mathematics, science and language.
Part of the Cuban education is that students in regular schools cleverly country where they are training alongside their unpaid work in agriculture.
1912 Race War
In 1912 Partido Independiente de Color attempted to establish a separate black republic in Oriente Province.Perhaps because the group lacked sufficient weaponry, the main tactic was to set businesses and private residences on fire.The movement was a failure and General Monteagudo suppressed the rebels with considerable bloodshed. Historians differ on the interpretation of this circumstance.
Some view it as suppression of Black rights, others as an attempt at racial cleansing and secession on part of the Black activists.
History
The recorded history of Cuba began on 12 October 1492, when Christopher Columbus sighted the island during his first voyage of discovery and claimed it for Spain. Columbus named the island Isla Juana in reference to Prince Juan, the heir apparent.The island had been inhabited by Native American peoples known as the Taíno and Ciboney whose ancestors had come from South America and possibly North and Central America in a complex series of migrations at least several centuries before, and perhaps 6,000 to 8,000 years ago.[13] The Taíno were farmers and the Ciboney (far more commonly written Siboney in neo-Taino nations) were both farmers and hunter-gatherers; some have suggested that copper trade was significant and mainland artifacts have been found.
The coast of Cuba was fully mapped by Sebastián de Ocampo in 1511, and in that year the first Spanish settlement was founded by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar at Baracoa. Other towns including the future capital of the island San Cristobal de la Habana (founded in 1515) soon followed. The Spanish, as they did throughout the Americas, oppressed and enslaved the approximately 100,000 indigenous people that resisted conversion to Christianity on the island. Within a century they had all but disappeared as a distinct nation as a result of the combined effects of European-introduced disease, forced labor and other mistreatment, though aspects of the region’s aboriginal heritage have survived. Most scholars now believe that, among the various contributing factors, infectious disease was the overwhelming cause of the population decline of the indigenous people.
When to Go
The best time to go to Cuba is between December and April, after the lashing rains of the hurricane season and before the hot and sticky discomfort of the scorching summer months. However this is also when planeloads of Canadians and Europeans arrive in pursuit of the southern sun, and room prices soar by up to 20%. Cubans take their holidays in July and August, so local beaches are very crowded at this time. Christmas, Easter and the period around 26 July, when Cubans celebrate the anniversary of the revolution, are also very busy. August to November is the worst time for hurricanes, while the winter months can bring in cold fronts when temperatures in the north and west of the island can dip under 15ºC (60°F).
Weather aside, Cuba has few other hurdles for visitors. Culture vultures should keep a close eye on the annual arts calendar for festivals and events; baseball fans will certainly not want to miss the post season, which runs from April to May; and political junkies may want to catch important days in the socialist calendar, particularly Día de los Trabajadores (Labor day; May 1) and Day of the National Rebellion (July 26).
Havana
Havana is the capital city, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city is one of the 14 Cuban provinces. The city/province has 2.1 million inhabitants, and the urban area over 2.6 million, making Havana the largest city in both Cuba and the Caribbean region.[2] The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet and which divides into three main harbours: Marimelena, Guasabacoa, and Atarés. The sluggish Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay.
King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City in 1592 and a royal decree in 1634 recognized its importance by officially designated as the “Key to the New World and Rampart of the West Indies“.[3] Havana’s coat of arms carries this inscription. The Spaniards began building fortifications, and in 1553 they transferred the governor’s residence to Havana from Santiago de Cuba on the eastern end of the island, thus making Havana the de facto capital. The importance of harbour fortifications was early recognized as English, French, and Dutch sea marauders attacked the city in the 16th century.[4] The sinking of the U.S. battleship Maine in Havana’s harbor in 1898 was the immediate cause of the Spanish-American War[5].
Nowadays Havana is the center of the Cuban government, and various ministries and headquarters of businesses are based there.
The Republic of Cuba
The Republic of Cuba (IPA: /ˈkjuːbə/, Spanish: Cuba or República de Cuba Spanish pronunciation: [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈkuβa]), consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles), Isla de la Juventud and several 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. The national flower is Hedychium coronarium J. Koenig, most often known as “flor de mariposa” (Butterfly Flower) and the national bird is “Tocororo” or Cuban Trogon from the family of Trogonidae.[8]
Cuba is the most populous insular nation in the Caribbean. Its people, culture and customs draw from several sources including the aboriginal Taíno and Ciboney peoples, the period of Spanish colonialism, the introduction of African slaves, and its proximity to the United States. The name “Cuba” comes from the Taíno language the exact meaning of which is unclear, but may be translated either “where fertile land is abundant” (cubao[9]) or “great place” (coabana[10]). The island has a tropical climate that is moderated by the surrounding waters; however, the warm temperatures of the Caribbean Sea and the fact that the island of Cuba sits across the access to the Gulf of Mexico combine to make Cuba prone to frequent hurricanes. Cuba’s main island, at 766 miles (1,233 km) long, is the world’s 17th largest.
