Cuba is an island country located in the Caribbean Sea with a population of over 11 million people. The culture of Cuba is a blend of Spanish, African, and Caribbean influences seen in foods like rice and beans, the music of salsa, and the religion of Santeria. Cuba had a "Golden Age" of filmmaking following the 1959 revolution. Christopher Columbus first landed in Cuba in 1492 and it later became a Spanish colony, gaining independence in the 1900s after struggles against Spanish rule.

1. CUBA Meggan Beneventi

2. Geography Cuba is located in the Caribbean Sea, at the entrance of the Gulf of Mexico Cuba is made up of many islands Most of Cuba is flat land with 3 main mountain ranges: Sierra de Los Organos, in the West; Sierra del Escambray, in the Central Region; and Sierra Maestra, in Eastern Cuba, where the country’s highest mountain -Pico Real del Turquino, with 1 974 M (5 933 feet) above sea level- is located.

3. Geography Cuba has 2 main seasons: the dry season, from November to April and rainy season, from May to October. The average temperature is 77 degrees F. Cuba has excellent beaches and rivers

4. People This photo is not the average person in Cuba. He is a poor man who earns a buck a photo by being a tourist attraction in Havana

5. People According to Cuba's Oficina Nacional de Estadisticas ONE 2002 Census, the population was 11,177,743, including: 5,597,233 men and 5,580,510 women. The racial make-up was 7,271,926 whites, 1,126,894 blacks and 2,778,923 mulattoes. The Chinese population in Cuba is descended mostly from indentured laborers who arrived in the 19th century to build railroads and work in mines. After the Industrial Revolution, many of these laborers stayed in Cuba because they could not afford return passage to China.

6. Culture: Food Cuban cuisine is a fusion of Spanish, African and Caribbean cuisines. Cuban recipes share spices and techniques with Spanish and African cooking, with some Caribbean influence in spice and flavor. This results in a unique, interesting and flavorful blend of the several different cultural influences.

7. Culture: Film Although cinema arrived at Cuba at the beginning of the 20th century and the island arrived early to the television phenomena and cinematographic production, only around 80 full-length films were produced before the Cuban Revolution of 1959, most of these films were melodramas. Following the revolution, Cuba entered what is considered the "Golden age" of Cuban Cinema.

8. Culture: Art Cuban art is a very diverse cultural blend of African, European and North American design reflecting the diverse demographic of the island. Cuban artists embraced European modernism and the early part of the 20th century saw a growth in Cuban vanguardism movements, these movements were characterized by a mixture of modern artistic genres.

9. Culture: Religion Cuba is traditionally a Catholic country. In some instances Catholicism is much modified and influenced through syncretism. A common syncretic belief is Santería, which was brought to Cuba by the slaves from Africa and spread to neighboring islands; it shows similarities to Brazilian Umbanda and has been receiving a degree of official support.

10. Culture: Music The music of Cuba , including the instruments and the dances, is mostly of European (Spanish) and African origin. Most forms of the present day are creolized fusions and mixtures of these two great sources. Almost nothing remains of the original Indian traditions

11. Culture: Surfing A long barrier reef along the town of Caletone, a small fishing village, with breaks and bends that allow some sectiony lefts and rights to peel. Constant wind swell in the summer months allow some consistent sloppy peaks to be ridden but is better on possible winter groundswells. Atmosphere: Caletone is a great little town, packed in the summer with vacationing Cubans and deserted in the winter months. Saw waves there in July, not sure of conditions in the winter but it looks like it has potential. Faces NE so should catch winter swells that get through the Bahamian chain. Plus your in Cuba! Cool people and fascinating history.

12. History Cuba starts when Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Cuba on October 28, 1492, during his initial westward voyage. Colonization of the island began in 1511, when the Spanish soldier Diego Velazquez established the town of Baracoa. Havana became one of the area’s most important slave markets. Many of the superb eighteenth century palaces in the capital were built with the proceeds from the sale of slaves. Further lucrative items for sale were coffee, tobacco, leather and sugar and the only real bar to Cuban prosperity was the Spanish trade monopoly

13. History The inevitable consequence of this was that a movement for Cuban independence began to gather organisational force and on 10th October 1868 landowner Carlos Manuel de Cespedes freed his slaves and started what was to become the Ten Years’ War. In 1953 Fidel Castro and a band of Revolutionary friends attacked the Moncada Garrison in Santiago de Cuba but were routed by Batista’s troops. Fidel and his brother Raul were imprisoned but after being released on amnesty two years later they regrouped in Mexico and returned to Cuba in the company of Che Guevara. 1961, the breaking off of diplomatic relations and the Bay of Pigs invasion, which provided the final impulse for Cuba’s final transition into Communism and its sweeping alliance with, and subsequent dependence upon, the Soviet Union.

14. Sources http://www.embacuba.or.ke/mapadecuba.html http://www.treehugger.com/cuba_superpower.jpg http://globalvoicesonline.org/2006/08/12/cuba-the-pierced-guy/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubans http://www.cubahistory.org/fidel-castro-revolution.html

15. Sources http://www.panoramio.com/photo/2140263 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_cuisine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_art http://www.wannasurf.com/spot/Central_America/Cuba/caletone/index.html