Cuba Culture: Explore the Rich History and Tradition of the Caribbean Nation

Cuba is known for having a rich culture which is largely a combination of African and Spanish influences. It has been apparent to its music and art that show a mixture of African and European styles, which has changed through many phases.

Cuba's art was also heavily involved in the political situation from the 1960s onwards, with many using it as propaganda pieces supporting the revolution, according to iExplore.

Film has been considered a popular and successful form of art since 1959, with Havana hosting the internationally renowned New Latin American Film Festival every year.

Cuban were also known to love going to the cinema as it being a favored as an inexpensive form of recreation. Going to the movies only costs about 14 cents since film production has been socialized.

According to Every Culture, expressive language, music, and dance are a cultural heritage that Cubans express frequently. Cuba is also known for the National Ballet of Cuba, whose founder and artistic director is Alicia Alonso.

Cuba Tradition

Among the traditions that Cubans observe are superstitions. Cubans also believe in celebrating Christmas with no presents.

Culture Trip reported that Christmas in Cuba is celebrated on Noche Buena or Christmas Eve, with the traditional meal, whole suckling pig, prepared in a backyard oven.

Families and friends get together, and sometimes even neighbors and co-workers are invited. Christmas Day becomes more about recovery than festivities for Cubans.

Another festivity that Cubans celebrate is the fiesta of the Red and Blue. It is observed in early November each year, with the town of Majagua in Ciego de Avila coming alive with a celebration of peasant culture.

The town is separated into red and blue sides, with residents free to choose which side they want to be in. They then face each other in dance battles.

Cuba People and History

Diverse ethnic groups have been in Cuba before the time of European contact, which includes Spaniards and Africans, with smaller groups of Chinese, Jews, and Yucatecan Indians.

According to Britannica, the Guanahatabey and Ciboney groups were among the original hunter-gatherer societies to be in Cuba by about 4000 BCE. The former was living in the extreme west of the island while the latter mainly stayed on the cays of the south.

The Tainos then arrived later and spread throughout Cuba and the Bahamas. Around one-fourth of Cubans are of mixed ethnic lineage and are identified as mulattoes or mestizos and some two-thirds are descendants of white Europeans, mainly from Spain.

Blacks make up about one-tenth of the population. The Black population grew in the early 16th century when Spaniards started importing African slaves as a substitute for the reduced supply of Indian laborers.

The main language of Cuba is Spanish. Cuba started its republican administration in 1902 under Estrada Palma and was subjected to heavy U.S. influence.

Hundreds of thousands of Cubans then emigrated to the U.S. and other countries due to Soviet economic and military support shift of the country.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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