Country book · Latin America

Cuba

Vintage cars, live music, revolutionary history

Cuba's decades of isolation preserved a strange time capsule of 1950s cars and architecture alongside a fiercely creative music and dance culture that never stopped evolving despite decades of economic hardship.

Myths

What's true, what isn't

Actually true

Classic American cars still run the streets
Thousands of 1950s Chevrolets and Fords, kept alive with improvised parts, remain daily transportation in Havana.
Music and dance are inseparable from daily life
Son, salsa and rumba are played and danced in the street, not just performed for tourists.
Education and healthcare are free and widespread
Cuba has one of the highest literacy rates in the world and exports doctors internationally.
The dual economy genuinely shapes daily life
Cubans have long navigated separate currencies and rationing systems that create real day-to-day complexity.

Commonly believed, wrong

"It's frozen entirely in the 1950s"
Havana has smartphones, wifi parks and a growing private restaurant scene alongside the vintage cars.
"All Cuban music is salsa"
Son, trova, timba, rumba and reggaetón are all distinct genres with different histories and instruments.
"Americans can't visit at all"
US travelers can visit under specific licensed categories such as educational and people-to-people travel.
"Cuban cigars are made only for tourists"
Tobacco farming in Pinar del Río has centuries of tradition and supplies both local and international markets.

Highlights

The best of Cuba

Havana's Malecón and Old Town

A seafront promenade beside crumbling colonial facades and restored plazas in Habana Vieja.

Viñales Valley

Limestone mogotes rise over tobacco farms worked much as they were a century ago.

Trinidad's colonial core

Cobblestone streets and pastel houses preserved almost entirely since the 18th-century sugar boom.

Live music every night

Son and salsa bands play in casas de la música and street corners across every city.

Culture

Cultural riches

Afro-Cuban religious traditions

Santería blends Yoruba deities with Catholic saints, shaping music, ritual and daily belief.

Revolutionary iconography

Murals of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro remain a visible part of the urban landscape.

Baseball obsession

Cuba's baseball culture has produced generations of major league talent despite the embargo.

Cigar-making tradition

Hand-rolled cigars from Pinar del Río tobacco remain a point of national craft pride.

Food

What to eat

Ropa vieja

Shredded, slow-cooked beef in tomato sauce, considered one of Cuba's signature dishes.

Moros y cristianos

Black beans and rice cooked together, named for the historical Moorish and Christian symbolism of the colors.

Cuban sandwich

Ham, roast pork, cheese, pickles and mustard pressed on Cuban bread — a Tampa-Havana shared classic.

Lechón asado

Whole roast pork, marinated in mojo and slow-cooked, central to Cuban holiday feasts.

Mojito and daiquiri

Rum-based cocktails perfected in Havana bars in the early 20th century, still poured the same way.

Music

World-famous voices

Buena Vista Social Club

The album that revived Cuban son.

Celia Cruz

The queen of salsa.

Compay Segundo

Trova legend.

Camila Cabello

Cuban-born global pop star.

Gente de Zona

Cubatón hits.

History

Important people in history

José Martí

1853 — 1895

Poet and revolutionary who became the intellectual father of Cuban independence from Spain.

Fidel Castro

1926 — 2016

Led the 1959 revolution and ruled Cuba for nearly five decades, reshaping the island's politics and economy.

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes

1819 — 1874

Plantation owner who freed his slaves and launched the first war of independence against Spain in 1868.

Cities