Cuba

From the air, the island of Cuba looks like a crocodile or alligator and so Cuba is often referred to in Spanish as "El Cocodrilo" or "El Caimán". 

Cuba's formal name is La República de Cuba.

The capital of Cuba is Havana/la Habana.

World Records

Cuba is the largest Caribbean island both in terms of size and population. It is also the 17th largest island in the world.

Diana Nyad, an American, is the first confirmed person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage. She completed her swim on her fifth attempt at the age of 64. 

The bee hummingbird, or the zunzuncito, is the smallest bird in the world and is  from Cuba.  The bee hummingbird weighs less than a dime and it can flap its wings up to 200 times per second!

The smallest frog in the Northern Hemisphere lives in Cuba. The Monte Iberia frog's body is only 1 centimeter long.  It's among the smallest frogs in the whole world.

Cuba is the only country in the world that has a double currency system.  That means they have 2 different types of money.

Cuba has nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Two of them natural and the other seven are cultural. Old Havana is one of the cultural world heritage sites.

Interesting Facts

Cuba is 90 miles south of Florida.

Cuba has more than 4,000 other much smaller islands and cays.

Christopher Columbus landed in Cuba in the year 1492 and claimed it as Spanish territory.

Sugar from sugar cane is the main crop grown in Cuba, followed by tobacco which is used in the making of hand-crafted cigars.  Cuban cigars are famous for being the finest cigars in the world.

Snow is a very rare occurrence in Cuba. It is so rare in fact, that according to documentation, it has only ever snowed once. This happened in the year 1857.

The most popular sport in Cuba is baseball.

Celia Cruz is a famous singer from Cuba. Celia Cruz is know as the "Queen of Salsa". 

Carmen Deedy is an author and storyteller from Cuba. She has written 11 children's books, including Martina the Beautiful Cockroach. 

Desi Arnaz is an actor from Cuba. He is best known for playing Ricky Ricardo on the television show "I Love Lucy."

Ernest Hemingway was living in Cuba at the time he wrote some of his most famous books, For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea.

Cuba is known for its unique music style. Dances such as the the rumba, mambo and cha-cha-cha originally were invented in Cuba.

The game of dominoes is very popular in Cuba.

Fidel Castro, the Cuban dictator, ruled Cuba by force for over 40 years.

Click HERE for more information about Fidel Castro. 

Vintage American cars from the 1940s and 1950s are the kind of cars you will find people driving around Cuba.

Cuban cuisine is like a melting pot rich in delicious food under great foreign influences.

A Cuban sandwich, known as a Cubano, is similar to a grilled ham-and-cheese sandwich original to Florida. This delicious sandwich is grilled and made with ham, pork, Swiss cheese, pickles, mustard, Cuban bread, and sometimes salami.

Despite its American origin, baseball is strongly associated with Cuban nationalism. It became the most played sport in the 1870s.

Cuba has many species of snakes. It is extremely rare to see a poisonous snake-- rumor is that they do not exist on the island.