Cuba

Cuba's 11 million people are ethnically diverse—a mixture of Spanish colonizers, enslaved Africans, Chinese contract laborers, and smaller groups that merged over centuries. Official statistics show about 65% white, 25% mixed-race, and 10% Black, though these categories are contested and self-identification varies. What unites Cubans is a powerful national identity forged through independence struggles, revolution, and shared hardship.

Music permeates Cuban life to an extraordinary degree. Son—the foundation of salsa—emerged from the fusion of Spanish guitar and African rhythms. Rumba, born in Havana and Matanzas, celebrates African heritage with complex percussion and dance. Contemporary Cuba produces reggaeton, timba, and hip-hop alongside traditional forms. You'll hear live music everywhere—from concert halls to street corners, from casa de la trova to spontaneous gatherings.

Santería, blending Yoruba religion brought by enslaved people with Catholicism, remains widely practiced despite official atheism during the revolutionary period. Orishas (deities) map onto Catholic saints; elaborate rituals involve animal sacrifice, possession trance, and divination. You'll see practitioners dressed in white, beaded necklaces indicating their patron orisha. The religion coexists with Catholicism, Protestantism, and secular socialism.

Cuban hospitality is legendary—and genuine. Despite (or perhaps because of) material scarcity, Cubans share freely. Conversations happen easily; strangers become friends. The culture values education highly—literacy is nearly universal, and Cuba produces remarkable numbers of doctors, teachers, and artists relative to its economy. This combination of warmth, education, and creative energy makes human connection Cuba's greatest attraction.

Havana is unlike any other city on Earth. Two million people inhabit a sprawling metropolis where baroque churches face art deco apartment blocks, where 1950s Chevrolets share streets with horse-drawn carts, where revolutionary murals fade on crumbling walls while rooftop bars serve craft cocktails to tourists. The city demands time—not just to see its sights but to absorb its rhythm, to sit on the Malecón at sunset, to wander without destination through neighborhoods that reveal themselves slowly.

Habana Vieja (Old Havana), a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982, contains the colonial core: Plaza de la Catedral, Plaza Vieja, Plaza de Armas, and the restored palaces along Calle Obispo. The Capitol building, modeled after Washington's, anchors Centro Habana. The Paseo del Prado promenade leads to the Malecón—the eight-kilometer seawall where all Havana eventually gathers to fish, flirt, drink rum, and watch waves crash.

Vedado, developed in the early 20th century, offers tree-lined streets of eclectic mansions, the Hotel Nacional (where everyone from Churchill to Sinatra stayed), and the Revolution Square with its iconic Che Guevara portrait on the Ministry of Interior building. Further out, Miramar's embassy district and the formerly exclusive Havana Country Club—now a public park—show pre-revolutionary wealth.

Essential experiences: cocktails at La Floridita (Hemingway's daiquiri bar) or Bodeguita del Medio (mojito); the Fábrica de Arte Cubano (FAC) for contemporary culture; the Museo de la Revolución in the former presidential palace; the vintage car taxi ride along the Malecón at sunset. Stay in a casa particular for authenticity, or the Hotel Nacional for faded glamour.

Trinidad is Cuba's most perfectly preserved colonial town—a UNESCO World Heritage Site that looks much as it did in the 1850s when sugar wealth built its grand mansions. Cobblestone streets wind between pastel-painted houses with terracotta roofs, wrought-iron grilles, and interior courtyards. The Plaza Mayor, surrounded by 18th-century palaces now housing museums, forms the heart of this living museum where residents go about daily life amid architectural splendor.

The town's wealth came from the Valle de los Ingenios (Valley of the Sugar Mills), itself a UNESCO site. The Manaca Iznaga tower—a 45-meter-tall observation post where overseers watched enslaved workers—survives as testimony to the brutal plantation system. Today the valley offers horseback riding, scenic drives, and reminders of Cuba's complicated history with sugar and slavery.

Trinidad's nightlife centers on the Casa de la Música, an open-air staircase where live bands play salsa and timba under the stars. Nearby Playa Ancón offers the best beach on Cuba's south coast. The Topes de Collantes mountains provide hiking through waterfalls and coffee plantations.

Other central Cuba highlights include Cienfuegos ("the Pearl of the South"), with its French-influenced neoclassical architecture, and Santa Clara, where Che Guevara's mausoleum and the derailed armored train from the revolutionary battle anchor the city's revolutionary heritage.

The Viñales Valley looks like nowhere else: massive limestone mogotes—rounded karst hills covered in vegetation—rise from a flat valley floor of rust-red soil where tobacco is cultivated by traditional methods little changed in centuries. The UNESCO-protected landscape feels prehistoric, almost Jurassic. Farmers in cowboy hats still use oxen to plow fields; tobacco dries in thatched barns called casas de tabaco.

The valley is Cuba's premier tobacco region, producing the leaves that become the world's finest cigars. Tours of tobacco farms (fincas) explain the process from seed to smoke. The vegueros (tobacco farmers) often roll cigars for visitors—unofficial but excellent products at a fraction of official prices. The Mural de la Prehistoria, a massive painting on a mogote face, is kitschy but somehow appropriate.

Adventure activities abound: horseback riding through the valley, rock climbing on the mogotes, caving in the extensive limestone systems including the Cueva del Indio (with its underground river boat ride). The town of Viñales itself is pleasant, with its single main street of casas particulares, restaurants, and bars where nightly live music keeps the party going.

Further west, the Guanahacabibes Peninsula offers Cuba's best diving and pristine beaches with virtually no development. María la Gorda, at the peninsula's tip, provides access to exceptional coral walls and endemic species. The drive across Pinar del Río province reveals rural Cuba at its most authentic.

Cuban cuisine reflects the island's history—Spanish foundations with African influences, adapted to tropical ingredients and, since 1959, constrained by scarcity. The result is comfort food that rewards those who find it done well while frustrating those who encounter it done poorly. State restaurants often disappoint; private paladares deliver everything from traditional criolla cooking to sophisticated contemporary interpretations.

Classic dishes include ropa vieja (shredded beef in tomato sauce), lechón asado (roast pork), arroz con pollo (chicken with rice), and the ubiquitous moros y cristianos (black beans and rice). Tostones (twice-fried plantains) and yuca con mojo (cassava with garlic sauce) accompany most meals. The Cuban sandwich originated with exiles in Tampa and Miami but has returned home. Seafood, especially lobster, can be excellent when available.

Rum is Cuba's national drink—Havana Club being the iconic brand, though Santiago's Ron Caney and others compete. The classic cocktails were perfected here: mojito (white rum, lime, mint, sugar, soda), daiquiri (white rum, lime juice, sugar), and Cuba Libre (rum and Coca-Cola with lime—though authentic Coke requires effort to find). Cuban coffee comes strong and sweet; café cubano is essentially espresso with sugar.

Cigars complete the experience. Cuba produces the world's finest—Cohiba, Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, Partagás. Visit a factory to watch torcedores (rollers) at work; buy from official Casa del Habano shops to ensure authenticity (street vendors often sell fakes). Lighting a good Cuban cigar as the sun sets over the Malecón is a quintessential Cuba experience.

Lechón Asado

Roast Pork

Whole roast pig marinated in mojo criollo—Cuban celebration centerpiece.

Ingredients: 1kg pork shoulder, For mojo: sour orange juice, garlic, oregano, cumin, Olive oil, Onion.

Preparation: Blend mojo ingredients. Marinate pork overnight. Roast low and slow (160°C (320°F), 4 hours). Then baste with mojo. Until crispy outside, tender inside. Finally, serve with mojo on side.

💡 Sour orange is key—mix regular OJ with lime if unavailable.

Moros y Cristianos

Moors and Christians

Black beans and rice cooked together—Cuba's most famous side dish.

Ingredients: 240ml black beans, 240ml rice, Sofrito (onion, pepper, garlic), Cumin, oregano, Bay leaf, Olive oil.

Preparation: Cook beans until almost tender. Make sofrito, add spices. Add rice and bean liquid. Then cook until rice is done. Should be moist, not dry.

💡 Beans and rice in one pot—not served separately.

Cubano Sandwich

Cuban Pressed Sandwich

Roast pork, ham, cheese, pickles, and mustard pressed until crispy.

Ingredients: 1 Cuban bread roll (or 20cm baguette), 100g roast pork (sliced), 50g ham, 50g Swiss cheese, 4 dill pickles, 15ml yellow mustard, 30g butter.

Preparation: Slice bread, spread with butter and mustard. Layer ham, pork, cheese, pickles. Press in sandwich press or heavy pan. Then grill until cheese melts and bread crispy. To finish, cut diagonally.

💡 The press is essential—it's not a cubano without it.

José Martí International Airport (HAV) in Havana receives most international flights. Airlines from Canada, Mexico, Europe, and (for authorized travelers) the United States fly regularly. Other international airports include Varadero (VRA), Santa Clara (SNU), and Holguín (HOG). Remember: US travelers must qualify under one of 12 authorized categories—standard tourism is not permitted.

Internal transport presents challenges. Viazul tourist buses connect major destinations reliably if slowly. Shared taxis (colectivos) offer faster point-to-point travel. Rental cars are expensive and often unavailable—book well ahead if needed. The road network is adequate but poorly lit at night; expect horses, bicycles, and pedestrians on highways. Domestic flights exist but often cancel or reschedule.

Within cities, classic car taxis (often charging in dollars) serve tourists; yellow cocos (motorcycle taxis) and shared almendrones (route taxis) serve locals at lower prices. Havana's HavanaBusTour offers hop-on/hop-off service. Walking is often the best option in colonial centers. Ride-sharing apps don't operate; negotiate prices before departing.

Accommodation divides between state hotels and casas particulares (private homestays, marked by blue anchors on doors). Casas offer better value, authentic experience, and direct support for Cuban families. Quality varies—read reviews carefully. Airbnb operates in Cuba despite legal ambiguity. Book ahead during high season (December-April) and always for popular destinations like Trinidad and Viñales.

Cuba is, quite simply, one of the most important cocktail nations on Earth. The island that gave the world the mojito, the daiquiri, the Cuba libre, and the Presidente — and whose rum traditions stretch back to the 16th-century Spanish colonial sugar mills — has shaped global drinking culture far beyond what its modest size would suggest. Cuban drinking is inseparable from Cuban identity: the sound of son cubano drifting from a crumbling Havana bar, the clink of rum glasses on a Malecón seawall at sunset, the ritual of sharing a bottle of Havana Club between friends on a front porch in Trinidad. This is a country where rum isn't just a spirit; it's a way of life.

The Mojito — Born in Havana · Cuba gave the world three iconic cocktails — the mojito, daiquiri, and Cuba libre — all built on the island's legendary sugarcane rum. At La Bodeguita del Medio, Hemingway's legendary haunt, the mojito ritual continues unchanged.

🥃 Havana Club & Cuban Rum

Havana Club is Cuba's flagship rum brand and one of the most recognizable spirits in the world — though Americans may not know it, thanks to the U.S. embargo that has kept Cuban rum off American shelves since 1962. The brand's range spans from the ubiquitous Havana Club 3 Años (the default mojito rum) through the elegant 7 Años (best sipped neat or in an old fashioned) to the extraordinary Selección de Maestros and ultra-premium Máximo Extra Añejo, which rival the world's finest aged spirits. The state-owned distillery in San José de las Lajas, guided by maestros roneros (master rum makers) trained in a tradition stretching back generations, produces rum using a continuous column distillation process and ages it in white oak barrels in Cuba's tropical climate, where the "angel's share" — the portion lost to evaporation — is dramatically higher than in cooler climates.

Beyond Havana Club, Santiago de Cuba rum (produced in the eastern city that claims to be rum's spiritual birthplace) offers excellent aged expressions, and the budget-friendly Cubay and Legendario brands serve everyday drinking needs. Cuba's rum tradition is governed by the Denominación de Origen Protegida "Ron de Cuba", which mandates production methods and aging standards — making Cuban rum one of the most regulated spirits in the Caribbean.

🍹 The Holy Trinity of Cuban Cocktails

Three cocktails define Cuba's contribution to global bar culture. The Mojito — white rum, fresh lime juice, sugar, mint, soda water, and crushed ice — was allegedly born at La Bodeguita del Medio in Old Havana, though its true origins likely predate that famous bar. Hemingway's apocryphal quote ("My mojito in La Bodeguita, my daiquiri in El Floridita") has cemented both bars as pilgrimage sites. The Daiquiri, named after a beach near Santiago de Cuba, is nothing like the frozen, fruit-flavored abominations served at resort pools — the original is simply white rum, fresh lime, and sugar, shaken hard with ice into a crystalline, perfectly balanced sour. The Cuba Libre — rum, Coca-Cola, and lime — was reportedly invented in 1900 to celebrate Cuban independence from Spain, making it perhaps the only cocktail born as a political statement.

🎶 The Bar as Cultural Institution

Cuban bars are not mere drinking establishments; they are cultural institutions where music, conversation, politics, and rum intertwine in a uniquely Cuban alchemy. El Floridita, the "cradle of the daiquiri," maintains its art deco elegance and live son bands since the 1800s. La Bodeguita del Medio's graffiti-covered walls have been signed by everyone from García Márquez to Nat King Cole. But beyond these tourist landmarks, the real Cuban drinking experience happens in paladares (private restaurants), front porches, and neighborhood bars where a bottle of rum costs less than a dollar and the conversation is the main event. The tradition of ron con hielo (rum on ice) shared among neighbors on warm Havana evenings is as central to Cuban social life as the family dinner is to Italian culture.

🍺 Beer & Beyond

Cristal and Bucanero are Cuba's two main beer brands — Cristal a light, easy-drinking lager and Bucanero a slightly stronger, more full-bodied brew. Both are produced by Cervecería Bucanero, a joint venture with InBev. In a country where rum is cheaper than bottled water, beer occupies a secondary but still important role, particularly during baseball games and domino sessions. Guarapo, freshly pressed sugarcane juice, is Cuba's great non-alcoholic drink — electric green, intensely sweet, and sold from hand-cranked presses on virtually every street corner.