Few places are as fascinating as Cuba, which has been a magnet to travellers ever since Columbus 'discovered' it in 1492. Magnificently evoking the romance and drama as well as darker episodes of slavery and tyranny, this selection of journal entries, essays and guidebook commentaries begins by transporting the reader back to the days when Havana sheltered Caribbean pirate treasure ships and was the gateway to the Spanish Empire in the New World. Filled with the flavour and manners of bygone eras, these fascinating tales offer a glimpse into the history and beauty of Cuba.

Old Cuba presents an insider's view of the splendid colonial-era sites of the storied island nation, from the grand apartments and magnificent cathedral of Old Havana to the plantation homes of Pinar del R�o. Cuba dominates the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico, fixed between the great continents to the north and to the south, and has long served as a bridge between the Old World and the New. First visited by Christopher Columbus in 1492, its history of interaction with the Old World of Europe is among the longest in the Americas, and its architecture bears testament to this: Cuba is home to some of the most ancient cities and towns in the western hemisphere. As a result, the country once known as the "pearl of the Antilles," stands now as a treasure chest of alluring historic architecture--seasoned by European precedents mixed with colonial and Caribbean spice--and boasts an extraordinary number of UNESCO Cultural Heritage sites, from the historic center of Old Havana with its original city walls and the Castillo de la Real Fuerza--the oldest extant colonial fortress in the Americas--to the sixteenth-century city of Trinidad, within the central Cuban province of Sancti Sp�ritus, recognized by historians and scholars as a triumph of historic preservation and whose maze of pastel mansions and churches forms one of the best collections of colonial architecture to be found anywhere. From Old Havana to Santiago de Cuba, Old Cuba offers an intimate look at the historic architecture-- the houses, apartments, monuments, charming public spaces, and centuries-old churches--of this storied country.

Drawing upon local archives, museum records, memoirs, diaries, and other native sources, Llanes describes Cuba's architectural history from the 16th to the 19th century. More than 160 evocative color photos illustrate exterior and interior views, and extended captions explain the development of architectural features and the houses. 1 map.

An evocative feast for all the senses, A Taste of Old Cuba combines a Cuban expatriate's charming and vivid memories of a childhood on the idyllic island before Castro's revolution with more than 150 recipes for delicious, authentic, and traditional Cuban dishes.

Author Manuel Marquez-Sterling writes about Fidel Castro and his revolution from direct personal experience, as a historian with broad and deep knowledge of 50s Cuba. The author knew and had contact with many of the historical figures in the book's pages. His penetrating analysis of the public and behind-the-scenes events clears the fog and shatters myths to reveal the real story of the Cuban Revolution. The book explains how Castro came to power through the convergence of rabid partisanship, radical student politics, media bias, and venal politicians who placed self interest ahead of preserving democracy. Facing a constitutional crisis, these parties espoused "the end justifies the means," embracing political gangsterism and eschewing negotiations with political opponents- resulting in a power vacuum Castro exploited to seize power. Masterful propaganda cast Castro as pro-democracy hero, avoiding scrutiny of his plans for a totalitarian state under his control.

Spanning the history of the island from pre-Columbian times to the present, this highly acclaimed survey examines Cuba's political and economic development within the context of its international relations and continuing struggle for self-determination. The dualism that emerged in Cuban ideology - between liberal constructs of patria and radical formulations of nationality - is fully investigated as a source of both national tension and competing notions of liberty, equality, and justice.Author Louis A. Perez, Jr., integrates local and provincial developments with issues of class, race, and gender to give students a full and fascinating account of Cuba's history, focusing on its struggle for nationality.

Photographs and interviews illustrate modern-day Cuba, describing Cubans' daily lives and their response to the American embargo on travel and trade between the two countries.

Between 1920 and 1940, Cuba underwent a remarkable transition, moving from oligarchic rule to a nominal constitutional democracy. The events of this period are crucial to a full understanding of the nation's political evolution, yet they are often glossed

A re-examination of the Cuban diaspora through the lens of popular culture. In an era of warming relations between the US and Cuba, this book updates the conversation about Cuban America by showing how this community has changed over the past 25 years. No longer a conservative Republican voting bloc, the majority of Cubans today want more engagement with the island instead of less. Laguna investigates the generational shifts and tensions in a Cuban America where the majority is now made up of immigrants who arrived since the 1990s and those born in the US. To probe these changes, Laguna examines the aesthetic and social logics of a wide range of popular culture forms originating in Miami and Cuba from the 1970s through the 2010s. They include the stand-up comedy of performers like Alvarez Guedes and Robertico, a festival called Cuba Nostalgia, Miami morning radio shows, a form of media distribution on the island known as el paquete, and the viral social media content of Los Pichy Boys. This study illustrates the centrality of play in a community that has been described historically as angry, reactionary, and melancholic. Diversi�n contends that our understanding of the Cuban diaspora is lacking not in seriousness, but in play. By unpacking this archive, Laguna explores our complex, often fraught attachments to popular culture and the way it can challenge and reproduce typical cultural ideologies--especially in relation to politics and race. In the wake of the largest migration wave to the US in Cuban history, Diversi�n and its focus on play is crucial reading for those who seek to understand not only the Cuban American diaspora, but cultural and economic life on the island.

Briefly surveys the history of Havana, describes points of interest and historic sites, and shows notable hotels, museums, and architecture

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

The color, mystique and irrepressible spirit of Cuba come alive as the author sails to the old haunts of his lifelong hero, Ernest Hemmingway.

A thorough examination of the history of the controversial island country looks at little-known aspects of its past, from its pre-Columbian origins to the fate of its native peoples, complete with up-to-date information on Cuba's place in a post-Soviet world.

With this masterful work, Louis A. Perez Jr. transforms the way we view Cuba and its relationship with the United States. On Becoming Cuban is a sweeping cultural history of the sustained encounter between the peoples of the two countries and of the ways that this encounter helped shape Cubans' identity, nationality, and sense of modernity from the early 1850s until the revolution of 1959. Using an enormous range of Cuban and U.S. sources--from archival records and oral interviews to popular magazines, novels, and motion pictures--Perez reveals a powerful web of everyday, bilateral connections between the United States and Cuba and shows how U.S. cultural forms had a critical influence on the development of Cubans' sense of themselves as a people and as a nation. He also articulates the cultural context for the revolution that erupted in Cuba in 1959. In the middle of the twentieth century, Perez argues, when economic hard times and political crises combined to make Cubans painfully aware that their American-influenced expectations of prosperity and modernity would not be realized, the stage was set for revolution.

Cuba: Another Side of the Story is a memoir of how life changed for many children growing up in a country slowly dying under constant political conflict. The story is told in three parts: Part I “Before Castro,” Part II “Life under Castro,” Part III “Life in Exile.” This book creates a vivid sense of time and place through childhood memories of pre- and post-Castro Cuba, from 1945 to 1967. The forty two stories, told through the voice of a child, highlight moments of injustice in the eyes of a young girl who does not understand why the world around her is so strange. Her nanny, a poor black woman, shaped her soul and showed her the other side of the story, the story of the poor who are voiceless in a world where only those who can afford to pay for elite private schools can get ahead in life. This nanny becomes the spiritual guide who enables a very sensitive young child to navigate in a confusing world. Every one of the 42 stories focuses on a moment where the child relives memories of what she witnessed growing up. The first story is dedicated to Nana, the person whose memory guides her to write her life story. The title of the stories clearly describe how Nana influenced the author and helped her see the other side of the story. “El Barrio” describes a neighborhood where the rich, middle class and the poor lived in close proximity, a reflection of what Cuban society was in the 1950’s-“Everyone lived under the same sun, moon and stars but our worlds were very different.” The chapter about “Sunday Mass” describes the well-dressed parishioners who every Sunday walked through the park next to the Church and ignored the beggars who held their arms out, palms up, hoping to get a nickel or dime. “I don’t think the beggars got any of the money the priests collected every Sunday because they came back every Sunday. I never understood why God didn’t take care of everybody the same way.” Religious conflict plus the rich versus poor struggles are present throughout the book. Castro started his revolution claiming he wanted to help the poor. In the end, everyone, including the poor, were deceived by a charismatic man who understood what the poor wanted to hear, a promise of equality for all. His communist doctrine doomed the possibility of ever achieving equality for all. During Sunday Mass the priests would often remind poor parishioners how much God loved the needy by quoting verses like, “Blessed are the poor for they shall inherit the Kingdom of God,” or “For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” Religion and poverty seem to be two themes that prevail throughout this book, expressed clearly by the voice of the author who puts into words her thoughts by writing, “I never understood why God didn’t take care of everybody the same way.” The stories “The Day the Old Cuba Died“ and “The Bay of Pigs Invasion” describe the days leading to the failed attempt by Cuban exiles to get rid of the Castro regime. All hope and dreams died. The only dream left was to find a way to leave the island. The chapter “Adios Cuba” is a vivid memory of what it means to become a political exile. “Exile is more than a change of address, it is a spiritual displacement.” This book is not a research study about Cuban maids, family, religion or politics; it is a story about a young child and the life of her nanny and maids who allowed her to enter their world, a world that many don’t dare to acknowledge.

Born into a well-to-do family in Cuba in 1953, Eduardo Machado saw firsthand the effects of the rising Castro regime. When he and his brother were sent to the United States on one of the Peter Pan flights of 1961, they did not know if they would ever see their parents or their home again. From his experience living in exile in Los Angeles to becoming an actor, director, playwright and professor in New York, Machado explores what it means to say good-bye to the only home one’s ever known, and what it means to be a Latino in America today. Filled with delicious recipes and powerful tales of family, loss, and self discovery, Tastes Like Cuba delivers the story of Eduardo’s rich and delectable life—reminding us that no matter where we go, there is no place that feels (and tastes) better than home.

This book tells the story of the military life of Raúl Castro, an impressive military commander and highly original thinker who is also the longest-serving minister of defense of any country in recent times.

A fully-revised and updated new edition of a concise and insightful socio-historical analysis of the Cuban revolution, and the course it took over five and a half decades. Now available in a fully-revised second edition, including new material to add to the book’s coverage of Cuba over the past decade under Raul Castro All of the existing chapters have been updated to reflect recent scholarship Balances social and historical insight into the revolution with economic and political analysis extending into the twenty-first century Juxtaposes U.S. and Cuban perspectives on the historical impact of the revolution, engaging and debunking the myths and preconceptions surrounding one of the most formative political events of the twentieth century Incorporates more student-friendly features such as a timeline and glossary

In Cuba, an ailing Fidel Castro lies dying. A succession struggle commences. As Havana heats up, the CIA learns that one of the presidential contenders, secret police chief Alejo Vargas, has developed biological weapons and installed them on half-dozen intermediate-range ballistic missiles delivered by the Soviets during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Vargas' plan: foment a crisis with the U.S. and cow the Americans with biological weapons, thereby uniting the Cuban people behind his leadership...