Fidel Castro

The embargo makes the U.S. and its world’s biggest market look like they're afraid of a tiny island. The U.S. is seen as an oppressor to the small caribbean country. Castro is very successful at painting the U.S. as the aggressors as he puts all the blame on them for the conditions that Cubans are living under. He is a very charismatic leader and is beloved by his supporters the world over. The embargo strengthens Castro’s…

On his way to conquer the New World, Columbus first settled here in the island previously known as Quisqueva, Bohia and Ayti, then the Spanish named it Hispaniola. The original inhabitants called Tainos were annihilated as African slaves were delivered here with special purposes. Santo Domingo, the capital was the city at the very heart of the Spanish Empire in the New World. In 1967 Spanish ceded to France the present Republic of Haiti and the part that continued to be a Spanish colony turned…

Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia follows the lives of three generations of the del Pino family in the United States and in Cuba as they progress through the Cuban Revolution. Stylistically, the novel jumps between time periods, points of view, and characters, forcing the reader to be extremely attentive. Celia is the mother of Lourdes, Javier, and Felicia and is married to Jorge del Pino. The two seem to conflict ideologically as Celia supports the revolution and Jorge supports the American…

The story of the life of Celia Cruz is as unique as its impressive talent. Born in Cuba in 1924, Cruz grew up in a poor neighborhood of Havana. As one of fourteen children in the house, some siblings, other cousins, Cruz stood out among them for their ability to sing. She started entering amateur contests from fourteen. Cruz studied at the National Music Conservatoria Havana with a concentration in voice, piano and music theory. Although her father encouraged her to become a teacher, developing…

People hear the name Cuba and automatically think old architecture, beautiful women, and amazing food. Little do they know, those who live in Cuba are suffering and live in poverty. They look like they are stuck in time because their government stands corrupt. Their government advocates class war, sees that property is owned by all and that all are treated according to their needs and abilites. Because of that, the government does not do much to make things better for their people and economy.…

Though, the story doesn't give details about the dreams and ambitions of the main characters in specific or the Cuban immigrants in general, which may be attributed to their migration to America, there were many explanations about the kind of disappointed lives they had in US. Below some of the comments: When Maximo realizes, his University of Havana credentials meant nothing in US, "after teary nights of promises", he convinces his wife to make lunch to sell to the sugar men (Menéndez,…

The movie, Allende en Su Labertino (Allende and His Maze), was written by the Chilean film director and writer, Miguel Littin. Littin was born in the 1940s, was a supporter of Salvador Allende’s regime, and was exiled soon after the assassination of Allende during the rise in power of dictator Augusto Pinochet in Chile during his military coup of the country. Littin is also known for his other films, such as one relevant to this same historical subject is Dawson Isla 10 from 2009 which was a…

“Deception can be a tool, used by leaders, for good.” Deception, by definition is quite literally the act of misleading. Synonyms include misrepresentation and fraud. So one may ask, how can deception be a “good” thing, especially in leadership? We see examples of deception with former President, John F. Kennedy. In 1961,while actively making plans to invade Cuba, President Kennedy stated that the United States had no plans of military intervention in Cuba. Is this considered good deception?…

The country of Cuba has a lot of great features. The leader of Cuba is Raúl Castro. The official currency is the Cuban peso. It is divided into 100 centavos. Pesos are divided into 1, 3,5,1,20,50,100. The Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC) was founded by the Cuban financial authorities to take out all foreign currencies from circulation, and offer an alternative that is equal to US dollars. It replaces the dollar as currency where previous dollars were quoted in places such as hotels, restaurants and…

Cuba has been banned from trading with the United States for over half a century ago. This economic embargo has devastated Cuba, beginning since the early 1960’s. Several United States presidents have had different takes on the matter, some loosening the embargo whilst some making it more restricting. However, 55 years after, President Barack Obama has released an official statement, noting that, the US will normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba. It is therefore necessary to consider the…