Portal:Cuba

Oriente ([oˈɾjẽn̪.t̪e], "East") was the easternmost province of Cuba until 1976. The term "Oriente" is still used to refer to the eastern part of the country, which currently is divided into five different provinces. Fidel and Raúl Castro were born in a small town in this province (Birán).

The origins of Oriente lie in the 1607 division of Cuba into a western and eastern administration. The eastern part was governed from Santiago de Cuba and it was subordinate to the national government in Havana. In 1807, Cuba was divided into three departamentos: Occidental, Central and Oriental. This arrangement lasted until 1851, when the central department was merged back into the West. In 1878, Cuba was divided into six provinces. Oriente remained intact but was officially renamed to Santiago de Cuba Province until the name was reverted to Oriente in 1905. This lasted until 1976, when the province was split into five different provinces: Las Tunas Province, Granma Province, Holguín Province, Santiago de Cuba Province, and Guantánamo Province. This administrative change was proclaimed by Cuban Law Number 1304 of July 3, 1976, and remains in place to this day. (Full article...)

• ... that catalog showroom retailer Luria's hired former Cuban diplomats in the 1960s due to their knowledge of china and silverware?
• ... that Julio César Gandarilla Bermejo, a founder of the Cuban National Revolutionary Militia, ignored instructions from the Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel to make a Twitter account?
• ... that Brooklyn Nine-Nine actress Melissa Fumero is the daughter of Cubans who fled to the U.S. as teenagers?
• ... that Cuban historian Eusebio Leal preferred to identify himself as a "Fidelist" rather than a Marxist?
• ... that Rudi Kappel, co-founder of the first airline of Suriname, was arrested both on entering and leaving Santiago de Cuba?
• ... that Cuban exile Orlando Bosch was arrested in 1964 after he was found towing a torpedo through rush-hour traffic?

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Watercolour painting by Jacques Barraband, ca. 1800

The Cuban macaw or Cuban red macaw (Ara tricolor) is an extinct species of macaw native to the main island of Cuba and the nearby Isla de la Juventud. It became extinct in the late 19th century. Its relationship with other macaws in its genus was long uncertain, but it was thought to have been closely related to the scarlet macaw, which has some similarities in appearance. It may also have been closely related, or identical, to the hypothetical Jamaican red macaw. A 2018 DNA study found that it was the sister species of two red and two green species of extant macaws.

At about 45–50 centimetres (18–20 in) long, the Cuban macaw was one of the smallest macaws. It had a red, orange, yellow, and white head, and a red, orange, green, brown, and blue body. Little is known of its behaviour, but it is reported to have nested in hollow trees, lived in pairs or families, and fed on seeds and fruits. The species' original distribution on Cuba is unknown, but it may have been restricted to the central and western parts of the island. It was mainly reported from the vast Zapata Swamp, where it inhabited open terrain with scattered trees. (Full article...)

Pedro Pablo Zamora (born Pedro Pablo Zamora y Díaz, February 29, 1972 – November 11, 1994) was a Cuban-American AIDS educator and television personality. As one of the first openly gay men with AIDS to be portrayed in popular media, Zamora brought international attention to HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ issues and prejudices through his appearance on MTV's reality television series, The Real World: San Francisco.

Zamora's romantic relationship with Sean Sasser was also documented on the show; their relationship was later nominated by MTV viewers for "Favorite Love Story" award, and the broadcast of their commitment ceremony in 1994, in which they exchanged vows, was the first such same-sex ceremony in television history, and is considered a landmark in the history of the medium.

(Full article...)

A cabin on the hillridge to the south of Baracoa, Cuba

• ...that soon after the Cuban Revolution of 1959, Fidel Castro pledged to underwrite the debts of the Havana Sugar Kings baseball team, by playing an exhibition contest between his own pickup squad Los Barbudos ("The Bearded Ones") and a military police team?

• ...that when the Banking sector in Cuba came under the control of the new regime after the Cuban Revolution of 1959, Fidel Castro asked if there were an economista in the room during an inaugural meeting? And that Che Guevara put his hand up mistakenly believing the request was for a communista, and subsequently became President of the National Bank of Cuba?

• ...that the Guanajatabey were indigenous inhabitants of Cuba, that lived on the island since at least 1000 B.C.? And that they were forced to the western point of the island by the arrival of the Ciboney people?

• ...that Eastern Cuban cuisine forms the basis of criollo cooking, which shares a great deal of recipes with other Caribbean cuisines, but has the distinctive difference of making almost no use of peppers?

• ...that Women in Cuba currently hold 35% of the parliamentary seats in the Cuban National Assembly ranking sixth of 162 countries behind Rwanda, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark on issues of female participation in political life?

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