RepÃºblica de Cuba
Cuba, RepÃºblica de Cuba, consists of 4.195 islands with a total land area of 110 kmÂ². The biggest is the main island Cuba of 105 kmÂ². The second largest island is Isla de la Juventud (3 kmÂ²). Capital of Cuba and also the biggest city is Havana (La Habana). Cuba consists of 14 provinces and one special municipality (municipal especial). The 14 provinces are: CamagÃ¼ey, Ciego de Ãvila, Cienfuegos, GuantÃ¡namo, La Habana (Havana), Ciudad de La Habana (Havana city), Granma HolguÃn, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Pinar del RÃo, Sancti SpÃritus, Villa Clara and Santiago de Cuba. Isla de la Jeventud is the special community.
In the Pre-Columbian time Cuba was inhabited by the native American people TaÃno and the Ciboney. The name of the island 'Cubanican' was derived from the name of there main god. The exact meaning is not sure but some suggest the name means 'central place'. In 1492 the island was discovered by Christopher Columbus. Diego VelÃ¡zquez de CuÃ©llar began in 1511 with the conquest of Cuba and the country became a Spanish colony. In 1898 the country was captured by the United States after the Spanish-American War. They granted the country in 1902 formal independence. Cuba remained an American protectorate until 1934. The United States retained the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and to supervise its finances and foreign relations. Repeatedly they intervened militarily. In 1952 Fulgencio Batista became for the second time dictator of the country. This meant the beginning of a revolt of the revolutionary Fidel Castro. He failed and fled.
In 1956 he returned and this time he was successful and in 1959 he took over power. Castro turned out to be a communist and after which the country collided with the United States. In 1961 a group of opponents of the Castro government with American support landed in the Bay of Pigs. The invasion failed and Cuba remained communist. Because of the ban Cuba turned to the Soviet Union. This led to the Cuban missile crisis, when Soviet missiles were placed on Cuba. At the last moment the United States under the presidency of John F. Kennedy reached an agreement. The Soviet missiles on Cuba were removed. In return the United States removed its nuclear missiles from Turkey. Since February 2008 the younger brother of Fidel Castro, Raul Castro is the president of the Republic of Cuba. Fidel Castro had problems with his health so that his leadership was unable to continue.
Cuba is known for its music and long tradition. The traditional styles have famous names: Son, Danzon, Charanga, Rumba, Mambo, Salsa, Songo and Santeria. At the start of the century Cuban music enjoyed a revival through the Buena Vista Social Club. Films like Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights and The Lost City also influenced the reputation of Cuban music.
Baseball and boxing are the most popular sports. Cuba dominates boxing and has won lots of medals in all kind of competitions, especially the Olympic Games.
Wikipedia and the National Site of Cuba