Who are the people of Cuba? Readers will probe this question through this lively book about the cultural traditions, festivals, music, art, dance, and food of this Caribbean island nation. Analyzing how the country's history has shaped the cultural identity of its people, this comprehensive text sheds light on the unique contributions Cubans have made. Readers also learn that it is the largest island and most populated country in the Caribbean. Each spread features stunning photographs, which make the information pop. This engaging take on curricular social studies concepts is sure to capture readers' attention.

Who are the people of Cuba? Readers will probe this question through this lively book about the cultural traditions, festivals, music, art, dance, and food of this Caribbean island nation. Analyzing how the country's history has shaped the cultural identity of its people, this comprehensive text sheds light on the unique contributions Cubans have made. Readers also learn that it is the largest island and most populated country in the Caribbean. Each spread features stunning photographs, which make the information pop. This engaging take on curricular social studies concepts is sure to capture readers' attention.

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 continues to loom large in U.S. consciousness and politics. Culture and Customs of Cuba is a much-needed resource to give students and other readers an in-depth view of our important island neighbor. Luis, of Cuban descent, provides detailed, clear insight into Cuban culture in its historical context. Religion, customs, economy, media, performing and creative arts, and cinema are some of the many topics discussed. Included in this discussion are contributions of Cubans in exile which Luis considers an inherent part of Cuban culture. Encouraging a wider understanding of Cuba, this volume describes and highlights the cultures and customs of the island. Cuba, as one will learn while reading this book, is an island of many cultural customs that have evolved out of a rich history. Presented in the context of three interrelated periods in Cuban history: the Colonial, the Republic, and Castro's Revolution, this book explores Cuba's dynamic culture. Luis also notes the spread of Cuban culture abroad, where a significant part of the Cuban population has lived since the earl 19th century. Students and others interested in this country will find this book to be extraordinarily helpful and informative.

The Spanish had an enormous impact on Cuba's history and culture introducing the Spanish language to the island and Roman Catholicism. Other cultures have also contributed particularly in the area of the arts and food. Cuba the culture features the traditions and celebrations of the country's many different cultural influences.