Cuba was a major contributor to anti-imperialist wars in Africa, Central America and Asia. In Africa, the largest war was in Angola, where Cuba sent tens of thousands of troops. Cuba was a friend of the Ethiopian leader Mengistu Haile Mariam.In Africa, Cuba supported 17 governments.In some countries it suffered setbacks, Sony VAIO VGN-AW90S Battery
such as in easternZaire,but in others, like Algeria,Cuba had significant success. Other countries in which Cuba was involved include Ethiopia,Guinea,Guinea-Bissau,Mozambique,and Yemen.Cuba is the only minor developing country to have projected influence on the world stage that is characteristic of a major global power.[154] Sony VAIO VGN-AW90US Battery
The Cuban government's military involvement in Latin America—mostly with the aim of overthrowing U.S. backed right wing regimes, many of them dictatorial—has been extensive. One of the earliest interventions was the Marxist militia led by Che Guevara in Bolivia in 1967, though a modicum of funds and troops were sent. Sony VAIO VGN-AW91CDS Battery
Lesser known actions include the 1959 missions to the Dominican Republic[155] and Panama.In the former, the Cuban government provided military assistance to a group of Dominican exiles with the intention of overthrowing the tyrannical dictator Rafael Trujillo. Although the expedition failed and most of its members were murdered by the government, Sony VAIO VGN-AW91CJS Battery
today they are recognized as martyrs and a prominent monument was erected in their memory in Santo Domingo by the Dominican government. The Museo Memorial de la Resistencia Dominicana ("Memorial Museum of the Dominican Resistance,") where the heroes of 1959 feature prominently, is being built by the Dominican Government. Sony VAIO VGN-AW91CYS Battery
The socialist government in Nicaragua was openly supported by Cuba and can be considered its greatest success in Latin America.Cuba is a founding member of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas. More than 30,000 Cuban doctors currently work abroad, in countries such as Venezuela and Zimbabwe. Sony VAIO VGN-AW91DS Battery
In 2008, the EU and Cuba agreed to resume full relations and cooperation activities.[158] United States President Barack Obama stated on April 17, 2009, inTrinidad and Tobago that "the United States seeks a new beginning with Cuba",[159] and reversed the Bush Administration's prohibition on travel and remittances by Cuban-Americans from the United States to Cuba.Sony VAIO VGN-AW91JS Battery
Cuba is an archipelago of islands located in the northern Caribbean Sea at the confluence with the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. It lies between latitudes 19° and 24°N, and longitudes 74° and 85°W. The United States lies 90 miles across the Straits of Florida to the north and northwest (to the closest tip of Key West, Florida), Sony VAIO VGN-AW91YS Battery
the Bahamas to the north,Haiti to the east, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands to the south, and Mexico to the west. Cuba is the principal island, surrounded by four smaller groups of islands: the Colorados Archipelago on the northwestern coast, the Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago on the north-central Atlantic coast, Sony VAIO VGN-AW92CDS Battery
the Jardines de la Reina on the south-central coast and the Canarreos Archipelago on the southwestern coast.The main island is 1,199 km (745 mi) long, constituting most of the nation's land area (105,006 km2 (40,543 sq mi)) and is the largest island in the Caribbean and 16th-largest island in the world by land area. Sony VAIO VGN-AW92CJS Battery
The main island consists mostly of flat to rolling plains apart from the Sierra Maestra mountains in the southeast, whose highest point is Pico Turquino(1,975 m (6,480 ft)). The second-largest island is Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth) in the Canarreos archipelago, with an area of 3,056 km2 (1,180 sq mi). Cuba has a total land area of 110,860 km2 (42,803 sq mi). Sony VAIO VGN-AW92CYS Battery
With most of the island south of the Tropic of Cancer, the local climate is tropical, moderated by northeasterly trade winds that blow year-round. In general (with local variations), there is a drier season from November to April, and a rainier season from May to October. The average temperature is 21 °C (69.8 °F) in January and 27 °C (80.6 °F) in July. Sony VAIO VGN-AW92DS Battery
The warm temperatures of the Caribbean Sea and the fact that Cuba sits across the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico combine to make the country prone to frequent hurricanes. These are most common in September and October.
The most important mineral resource is nickel, of which Cuba has the world's second largest reserves (after Russia). Sony VAIO VGN-AW92JS Battery
Sherritt International of Canada operates a large nickel mining facility in Moa. Cuba is the world's fifth-largest producer of refined cobalt, a byproduct of nickel mining operations.[161] Recent oil exploration has revealed that the North Cuba Basin could produce approximately 4.6 billion barrels (730,000,000 m3) to 9.3 billion barrels (1.48×109 m3) of oil. Sony VAIO VGN-AW92YS Battery
In 2006, Cuba started to test-drill these locations for possible exploitation.Between 1882 and 1898, a total of 508,455 people left Spain, and more than 750,000 Spanish immigrants left for Cuba between 1899 and 1923, with many returning to Spain.According to the census of 2010, the population was 11,241,161, including 5,628,996 men and 5,612,165 women. Sony VAIO VGN-AW93FS Battery
The population of Cuba has very complex origins and intermarriage between diverse groups is general. There is disagreement about racial statistics. The Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami says that 62% is black,[167] whereas statistics from the Cuban census state that 65.05% of the population was white in 2002. Sony VAIO VGN-AW93GS Battery
The Minority Rights Group International says that "An objective assessment of the situation of Afro-Cubans remains problematic due to scant records and a paucity of systematic studies both pre- and post-revolution. Estimates of the percentage of people of African descent in the Cuban population vary enormously, ranging from 33.9 per cent to 62 per cent".Sony VAIO VGN-AW93HS Battery
Immigration and emigration have played a prominent part in the demographic profile of Cuba during the 20th century. During the 18th, 19th, and the early part of the 20th century large waves of Canarian, Catalan, Andalusian, Galician, and other Spanish people immigrated to Cuba. Between 1900 and 1930 close to a million Spaniards arrived from Spain. Sony VAIO VGN-AW93ZFS Battery
Other foreign immigrants include: French,[169] Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Dutch, Greek, British, Irish, and other ethnic groups, including a small number of descendants of U.S. citizens who arrived in Cuba in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Cuba has a sizable number of Asian people who comprise 1% of the population. Sony VAIO VGN-AW93ZGS Battery
They are primarily of Chinese descent (seeChinese Cubans), followed by Filipino, Koreans and Vietnamese people. They are descendants of farm laborers brought to the island by Spanish and American contractors during the 19th and early 20th century.Afro-Cubans are descended primarily from the Kongo people., Sony VAIO VGN-AW93ZHS Battery
as well as several thousand North African refugees, most notably the Sahrawi Arabs of Western Sahara under Moroccan occupation since 1976.
Cuba's birth rate (9.88 births per thousand population in 2006) is one of the lowest in theWestern Hemisphere. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ11EN Battery
Its overall population increased continuously from around 7 million in 1961 to over 11 million now, but the increase has stopped in the last few decades, and a decrease began in 2006, with a fertility rate of 1.43 children per woman. This drop in fertility is among the largest in the Western Hemisphere. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ11MN Battery
Cuba has unrestricted access to legal abortion and an abortion rate of 58.6 per 1000 pregnancies in 1996, compared to an average of 35 in the Caribbean, 27 in Latin America overall, and 48 in Europe. Contraceptive use is estimated at 79% (in the upper third of countries in the Western Hemisphere). Sony VAIO VGN-BZ11XN Battery
Cuba is officially a secular state. After having long maintained that churches were fronts for subversive political activity, the government reversed course in 1992, amending the constitution to characterize the state as secular instead of atheist. It has many faiths representing the widely varying culture. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ12VN Battery
Roman Catholicism was the largest religion; it was brought to the island by the Spanish and remains the dominant faith,[134] with 11 dioceses, 56 orders of nuns, and 24 orders of priests. In January 1998, Pope John Paul II paid a historic visit to the island, invited by the Cuban government and Catholic Church. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ12XN Battery
The religious landscape of Cuba is also strongly marked by syncretisms of various kinds. Catholicism is often practiced in tandem with Santería, a mixture of Catholicism and other, mainly African, faiths that include a number of cults. La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre (the Virgin of Cobre) is the Catholic patroness of Cuba, and a symbol of Cuban culture. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ31VT Battery
In Santería, she has been syncretized with the goddess Oshun.
Three hundred thousand Cubans belong to the island's 54 Protestant denominations. Pentecostalism has grown rapidly in recent years, and the Assemblies of God alone claims a membership of over 100,000 people. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ31XT Battery
Cuba has small communities of Jews, Muslims and members of the Bahá'í Faith.[175] Most Jewish Cubans are descendants of Polish and Russian Ashkenazi Jews who fled pogroms at the beginning of the 20th century. There is a sizeable number of Sephardic Jews in Cuba who trace their origin to Turkey. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ560 Battery
Most of these Sephardic Jews live in the provinces, although they maintain a synagogue in Havana.
In the last half-century, several hundred thousand Cubans of all social classes have emigrated to the United States,[176] Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, and other countries. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ560N24 Battery
On 9 September 1994, the U.S. and Cuban governments agreed that the U.S. would grant at least 20,000 visas annually in exchange for Cuba's pledge to prevent further unlawful departures on boats.[177]
The official language of Cuba is Spanish and the vast majority of Cubans speak it. Spanish as spoken in Cuba is known as Cuban Spanish and is a form of Caribbean Spanish. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ560N30 Battery
Lucumi, a dialect of the West African language Yoruba, is also used as a liturgical language by practitioners of Santería,[178] and so only as a second language.[179] Haitian Creole is the second largest language in Cuba, and is spoken by Haitian immigrants and their descendants.[180] Other languages spoken by immigrants include Catalan and Corsican. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ560P Battery
The University of Havana was founded in 1728 and there are a number of other well-established colleges and universities. In 1957, just before Castro came to power, the literacy rate was fourth in the region at almost 80% according to the United Nations, higher than in Spain.Castro created an entirely state-operated system and banned private institutions. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ560P20 Battery
School attendance is compulsory from ages six to the end of basic secondary education (normally at age 15), and all students, regardless of age or gender, wear school uniforms with the color denoting grade level. Primary education lasts for six years, secondary education is divided into basic and pre-university education.[ Sony VAIO VGN-BZ560P22 Battery
Higher education is provided by universities, higher institutes, higher pedagogical institutes, and higher polytechnic institutes. The Cuban Ministry of Higher Education operates a scheme of distance education which provides regular afternoon and evening courses in rural areas for agricultural workers. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ560P28 Battery
Education has a strong political and ideological emphasis, and students progressing to higher education are expected to have a commitment to the goals of Cuba.[183] Cuba has provided state subsidized education to a limited number of foreign nationals at the Latin American School of Medicine. Internet access is limited. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ560P30 Battery
The sale of computer equipment is strictly regulated. Internet access is controlled, and e-mail is closely monitored. The Higher Institute of Technologies and Applied Sciences is a Cuban educational institution that prepares students in the fields of nuclear and environmental sciences. It is the only institution in Cuba that provides the opportunities of studies in these topics and one of the few in Latin America. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ560P34 Battery
Its headquarters is in Havana, inside the territory of the “Quinta de los Molinos”.
Historically, Cuba has ranked high in numbers of medical personnel and has made significant contributions to world health since the 19th century.Today, Cuba has universal health care and although shortages of medical supplies persist, there is no shortage of medical personnel. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ561 Battery
Primary care is available throughout the island and infant and maternal mortality rates compare favorably with those in developed nations.Post-Revolution Cuba initially experienced an overall worsening in terms of disease and infant mortality rates in the 1960s when half its 6,000 doctors left the country. Recovery occurred by the 1980s, and the country's healthcare has been widely praised. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ561N20 Battery
The Communist government asserted that universal health care was to become a priority of state planning and progress was made in rural areas.[190] Like the rest of the Cuban economy, Cuban medical care suffered from severe material shortages following the end of Soviet subsidies in 1991, followed by a tightening of the U.S. embargo in 1992.[191] Sony VAIO VGN-BZ561P20 Battery
Challenges include low pay of doctors (only $15 a month[192]), poor facilities, poor provision of equipment, and frequent absence of essential drugs.[193] Cuba has the highest doctor-to-population ratio in the world and has sent thousands of doctors to more than 40 countries around the world. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ562P Battery
According to the UN, the life expectancy in Cuba is 78.3 years (76.2 for males and 80.4 for females). This ranks Cuba 37th in the world and 3rd in the Americas, behind only Canada and Chile, and just ahead of the United States. Infant mortality in Cuba declined from 32 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 1957, to 10 in 1990–95. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ563P Battery
Infant mortality in 2000–2005 was 6.1 per 1,000 live births (compared to 6.8 in the United States).
The quality of public healthcare offered to citizens is regarded as the "greatest triumph" of Cuba's socialist system.In Cuba, there is a need to import certain pharmaceutical drugs. Sony VAIO VGN-BZAAFS Battery
Therefore, the Quimefa Pharmaceutical Business Group was developed under The Ministry of Basic Industry (MINBAS) called, "FARMACUBA." This group also handles the exporting of pharmaceuticals, and provide technical information for the production of these drugs.
Cuban culture is influenced by its melting pot of cultures, primarily those of Spain and Africa. Sony VAIO VGN-BZAAHS Battery
Sport is Cuba's national passion. Due to historical associations with the United States, many Cubans participate in sports which are popular in North America, rather than sports traditionally promoted in other Spanish-speaking nations. Baseball is by far the most popular; other sports and pastimes include basketball, volleyball, cricket, and athletics. Sony VAIO VGN-BZAANS Battery
Cuba is a dominant force in amateur boxing, consistently achieving high medal tallies in major international competitions. Cuba also provides a national team that competes in the Olympic Games.
Cuban music is very rich and is the most commonly known expression of culture. Sony VAIO VGN-BZAAPS Battery
The central form of this music is Son, which has been the basis of many other musical styles like salsa, rumba and mambo and an upbeat derivation of the rumba, the cha-cha-cha. Rumba music originated in early Afro-Cuban culture. The Tres was also invented in Cuba, but other traditional Cuban instruments are of African origin, Sony VAIO VGN-CS118E/Q Battery
Taíno origin, or both, such as the maracas, güiro, marimba and various 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, Sony VAIO VGN-CS118E/R Battery
and features symphonic works as well as music for soloists, has received international acclaim thanks to composers like Ernesto Lecuona. Havana was the heart of therap scene in Cuba when it began in the 1990s. During that time, reggaetón was growing in popularity. Dance in Cuba has taken a major boost over the 1990s. Sony VAIO VGN-CS118E/W Battery
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. Food rationing, which has been the norm in Cuba for the last four decades, restricts the common availability of these dishes. Sony VAIO VGN-CS11S/P Battery
The traditional Cuban meal is not served in courses; all food items are 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 Platillo Moros y Cristianos (ormoros for short), and plantains are staples of the Cuban diet. Sony VAIO VGN-CS11S/Q Battery
Many of the meat dishes are cooked slowly with light sauces. Garlic, cumin, oregano, and bay leaves are the dominant spices.
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. Sony VAIO VGN-CS11S/W Battery
Writers such as Nicolás Guillén and Jose Z. Tallet focused on literature as social protest. The poetry and novels of Dulce María Loynaz and José Lezama Lima have been influential. Romanticist Miguel Barnet, who wrote Everyone Dreamed of Cuba, reflects a more melancholy Cuba.Writers such as Reinaldo Arenas, Guillermo Cabrera Infante, and more recently Daína Chaviano, Sony VAIO VGN-CS11Z/R Battery
Pedro Juan Gutiérrez, Zoé Valdés, Guillermo Rosales and Leonardo Padura have earned international recognition in the post-revolutionary era, though many of these writers have felt compelled to continue their work in exile due to ideological control of media by the Cuban authorities.Televisión Serrana(TVS), is a growing television and video project operating in Sierra Maestra in Cuba. Sony VAIO VGN-CS120J/P Battery
TVS was founded by Daniel Diez Castillo who also is a director. Televisión Serrana is located in a small town, San Pablo de Yao, in the Buey Arriba territory. This small community inhabits 32, 000 people and most are coffee growers and/or producers. The focus of TVS is to acknowledge and give voice to the farmers in the mountain ranges. Sony VAIO VGN-CS120J/Q Battery
TVS is preserving the culture of this small community and “connecting them to the broader cultural life of Cuba [1]The people of Sierra Maestra will be informed of other larger cities in Cuba, but also the rest of Cuba will notice who the people of Sierra Maestra are. TVS promotes awareness through the form of art. Sony VAIO VGN-CS120J/R Battery
TVS uses art to speak about the communities needs, beliefs, identity and to find “solutions to problems”[2] . January 15, 1993 institutions came together to sponsor and support TVS. UNESCO provided funding and support. The government of Cuba through the ICRT [3] supplied staff and training for the volunteers/employers. Sony VAIO VGN-CS190JTB Battery
The project of TV Serrana began in 1993 by Daniel Diez Castillo. Castillo was a television producer in Havana, Cuba from The Cuban National Broadcasting Channel (ICRT). When Castillo left Havana, Cuba was in the “Periodo Especial” or Special Period. This was the economic crisis that followed after the fall of the Soviet Union. Sony VAIO VGN-CS190JTP Battery
Castillo went east towards the region of the Sierra Maestras. The Sierra Maestras is known for its amazing mountains and the men who came across it. Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and many other rebels organized themselves to fight against Fulgencio Batista. Sierra Maestra is filled with mountains and not many people go towards it, so it became isolated from other parts of Cuba. Sony VAIO VGN-CS190JTQ Battery
Before Castillo came along, the rest of Cuba portrayed Sierra Maestra as the "producers of staples; nothing was said about their dreams, their conflicts, their culture" [4] . Daniel Diez Castillo then wanted to film the real Sierra Maestra, his goal was to “make a collective form of cinema, to produce movies and documentaries narrating the history and identity of people living that area,Sony VAIO VGN-CS190JTR Battery
to create a form of partaken communication far from the capital”. TV Serrana was first funded by UNESCO, but after time they were able to self-fund its own programs.
Tools used for Television Serrana are simple, it includes: "VHS, Super VHS and Beta nonprofessional cameras and editing equipment".The crew of TVS consists of “three cameramen, Sony VAIO VGN-CS190JTW Battery
three directors, two editors, two producers, two sound assistants and three drivers [7] who also set up the lighting when needed. One main feature used in TVS are video letters. A video letter is a reportage that captures the people of Sierra Maestra’s experiences, lives and dreams through their own perspective. Sony VAIO VGN-CS190NAB Battery
Video letters are not edited by the media, but they show the true reality and struggles of the people. Video letters are also important because they are seen by others and are used for responding. They create communication between boundaries and is a great factor in Television Serrana. Sony VAIO VGN-CS190NAC Battery
The program aims to promote self-sustaining activities, TV Serrana provides programs and opportunities to the people living within the villages. A majority of the training workshops were given through El Centro de Estudios para la Comunicación Comunitaria (CECC), created in 1996. Sony VAIO VGN-CS190NAD Battery
TV Serrana along with the help of supporting institutions provides training and services through seminars that help locals with communication and community building skills through the use of media. These programs offer lessons to villagers "willing to use video in their communities as a tool for participatory development and democratic communication".Sony VAIO VGN-CS190NBB Battery
Other services accessible through TVS is the ability to transfer and copy video-cassettes from and to Beta VHS and S-VHS which allow people within the communities to share their stories.
Television Serrana has been a growing success, but there were difficulties in the beginning. Sony VAIO VGN-CS190NCA Battery
One of the problems of TVS was the lack of experience many of the crew members had. Most had to take training sessions on how to work media products and running programs within the community. As mentioned before, the trainees had to learn how to do video letters and how to transfer and copy video-cassettes to and from Beta VHS. Sony VAIO VGN-CS190NCB Battery
The greatest of constraints for the project was gaining the trust and confidence needed by the local communities. Many of the villagers were skeptical of the programs intentions, which created difficulties to gain the support from locals. The people of Sierra Maestra felt the newcomers were intruding onto their land, Sony VAIO VGN-CS190NCC Battery
interrupting their daily lives and thought the intentions of the crew were to give the locals a bad image. The crew had to show the people that they came with positive objectives and wanted to help the communities. Sony VAIO VGN-CS50B/W Battery,Sony VAIO VGN-CS51B/W Battery,Sony VAIO VGN-CS52JB/W Battery
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