CUBA

 The Republic of Cuba, located 90 miles south of Key West, Florida, is a multiracial society
with people of primarily Spanish and African origins.
 The main island of Cuba is just over 40 thousand square miles, making it approximately half
the size of Great Britain, so it ranks as the 17th largest island in the world.
 Mistrust of government has reinforced a strong personalistic tradition and sense of national
identity evolving from family and interpersonal relationships.
 Desire for personal freedom, hope of refuge, political exile, and promise of economic
opportunities prompted migration.

Culture
Workforce
o Traditional Cubans recognize supervisors as authority figures and treat them with
respect and deference. Cubans value a structure characterized by personalismo,
one that is oriented around people rather than around concepts or ideas.

 Nutrition
o Many dishes are prepared with olive oil, garlic, tomato sauce, vinegar, wine, lime
juice (sofrito), and spices. Meat is usually marinated in lemon, lime, sour orange,
or grapefruit juice before cooking.
o A leisurely noon meal ( almuerzo) and a late evening dinner ( comida), sometimes
as late as 10 or 11 p.m., are often customary.
o The strong and bittersweet coffee called café cubano is a standard drink after
meals and throughout the day.

 Pregnancy and Childbearing Practices

o Cuban women’s fertility rate is lower than that of other Hispanic American
women. Cuba’s current reproductive rate is among the lowest in the developing
world. This low fertility rate has been attributed to the fact that many women are
in the workforce.
o Cutting the infant’s hair or nails in the first 3 months is believed to cause
blindness and deafness.

 Death Rituals
o In Catholic families, individual and group prayers are held for the dying to
provide a peaceful passage to the hereafter. Religious artifacts such as rosary
beads, crucifixes, or estampitas (little statues of saints) are placed in the dying
person’s room.
o For adherents of santería, death rites may include animal sacrifice, chants, and
ceremonial gestures.
o Candles are lighted after death to illuminate the path of the spirit to the afterlife.

 Spirituality
o Santería or Regla de Ocha, a 300-year-old African Cuban religious system,
combines Roman Catholic elements with ancient Yoruba tribal beliefs. Followers
 of Santería believe in the magical and medicinal properties of flowers, herbs,
weeds, twigs, and leaves.
o Belief in a higher power is evident in practices used to maintain health and well-
being or cure illness, such as using magical herbs, special prayers or chants,
ritual cleansing, and sacrificial offerings.

 Health-care practices
o African Cubans may seek biomedical care for organic diseases but consult a
santero for spiritual or emotional crises. Conditions such as decensos (fainting
spells) or barrenillos (obsessions) may be treated solely by a santero or
simultaneously with a physician.
o African Cubans may seek biomedical care for organic diseases but consult a
santero for spiritual or emotional crises.
o Conditions such as decensos (fainting spells) or barrenillos (obsessions) may be
treated solely by a santero or simultaneously with a physician.
o Many Cuban Americans rely on the family as the primary source of health advice.
Older women provide traditional home remedies such as herbal teas or mixtures.

Communication
 Cubans tend to be direct and some what louder than what the norm is in North America.
 When meeting strangers, standing close to one another is farther.
 Touch is common between people of the same gender; older men and women rarely
touch in public.