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> So you’re saying that Cuba doesn’t restrict free speech?

No, they do. I just think that's an acceptable thing to do. Sure, free speech is nice but housing, education, and healthcare are more important. In an ideal world we'd have both, but a hungry and homeless man doesn't care for free speech.

> You don’t lose your job for speaking out against the government?

No, you don't. You are legally and constitutionally guaranteed a job in Cuba.

> Tell me, Why is he in Sweden if Cuba is so great and full of opportunities?

Cuba is a third world country and has difficulties due to the 50 year long embargo that prevents them from trading with virtually any western country that's allied with the US.

> News and media aren’t censored?

No, they are.

> Is it not true that owning a business isn’t heavily restricted to the point where most of your income goes to the government?

Lol. "Economic freedom". You're talking to a communist, why would I care about letting people own businesses? Cuba has worker co-operatives and public enterprise. Capitalism is inherently exploitative. Cuba not having private enterprise is a good thing.

> The president not having legislative power? Bunk.
> Taxi drivers don’t make more than doctors? Bunk.

If you want sources, here are sources.

1. A Comparative Analysis of US and Cuban Democracy
   
2. Cuba and Its Neighbours: Democracy in Motion by Arnold August.
   
3. DemocracyInTheUS.com.
   
4. Cuban Democracy Fact Sheet.
   
5. All in This Together: Cuba's Participatory Democracy.
   
6. The Elected Delegate and the Dissident in Cuba's Municipal Elections by Arnold August.
   
7. Work and Democracy in Socialist Cuba by Linda Fuller.
   
8. How do Elections Work in Cuba?
   
9. How is the President elected in Cuba?
   
10. Cuba: A Revolution in Motion by Isaac Saney.
    
11. Cuban Constitution.
    
    > Racism and homophobia are super common
    
    

• Black Lives Matter in Cuba
  
• 5 Ways Fidel Castro and Cuba Inspired US Black Radicals
  
• Black America and the Passing of Fidel Castro
  
• Cuba Says 'No' to Transphobia and Homophobia
  
• Looking at Cuba's LGBTQ Revolution Through an Objective Lens
  
• Cuba Celebrates LGBTI Inclusion at 10th Annual March Versus Transphobia, Homophobia
  
• Cuba Observes 11th Annual Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia
  
• LGBTQI March to Support Labor and Marriage Rights in Havana
  
  As for the whole LGBT thing... (again)
  
  SRS and HRT are provided free of charge. This is more than can be said for a lot of countries.
  
  CENESEX is a government-funded body in Cuba, best known for advocating tolerance of LGBT issues on the island. CENESEX stresses acceptance of sexual diversity and has attracted international attention in recent years for its campaigns for the rights of transgender persons, including the recognition of an individual’s gender identity, regardless of birth sex, and provision of state-funded sexual reassignment surgery.
  
  Cuba also has an Assembly Against Homophobia and Transphobia, which last year launched a week dedicated to stamping out homophobia and transphobia, spearheaded by Mariela Castro.
  
  All this said, yes Cuba still has a way to go. Cuba, despite being a socialist state, is very catholic, and so they can be conservative in some ways. But Cuba has improved over the years.
  
  
• Same-sex sexual activity was made legal in 1979, 24 years before the United States.
  
• Cuba has given the right to change legal gender since 2008, which the US still doesn't.
  
• Cuba has an equal age of consent, which the US still doesn't.
  
• Cuba has anti-discrimination laws in employment, which the US still doesn't.
  
• Cuba lets MSM donate blood, which the US still doesn't.
  
  Yes, laws in the US vary from state to state, but on a national level the US is behind Cuba in many ways. And not only the US, but progressive countries like Sweden (where I'm from) are also behind in some respects.
  
  The imprisonment of gay people 60 years ago was obviously horrible, and Cuba recognises that what they did was both morally wrong and unconstitutional.
  
  In his autobiography My Life, Fidel Castro criticized the machismo culture of Cuba and urged for the acceptance of homosexuality. He made several speeches to the public regarding discrimination against homosexuals.
  
  In a 2010 interview with Mexican newspaper La Jornada, Fidel Castro called the persecution of homosexuals while he was in power "a great injustice, great injustice!" Taking responsibility for the persecution, he said, "If anyone is responsible, it's me. We had so many and such terrible problems, problems of life or death. In those moments, I was not able to deal with that matter [of homosexuals]. I found myself immersed, principally, in the Crisis of October, in the war, in policy questions." Castro personally said that the negative treatment of gays in Cuba arose out of the country's pre-revolutionary attitudes toward homosexuality.
  
  > I’m just saying It’s pretty clear that you won’t go to Cuba and record yourself talking to random people for obvious reasons. Doesn’t fit the narrative. Prove me wrong though. Go ahead.
  
  A one-way flight from Gothenburg to Havana is $1,128. Buy me a ticket and I'll do what you ask.

The guitarists there play almost exclusively classical or Spanish-style acoustic guitars. I wasn't sure before I went, so I brought some metal and some nylon strings. The nylon ones were far and away more appreciated, as most of the musicians who I encountered didn't have much use for the metal strings (what most strumming guitarists in Western music use). You'll want to look for sets labeled "tie end", as "ball end" strings didn't seem to be as common (though they can still be used). Here are a few options on Amazon:

One

Two

Three

There are some more options at varying price levels, but those are for sure safe bets. If you have a Guitar Center or local music shop nearby there will absolutely be somebody knowledgeable there who can help you if you're still stuck. I promise that whatever you bring will be much appreciated!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06W51KYL7/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511835276&sr=8-1-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=digicel+cuba&psc=1


I have no connection whatsoever to this company and gain nothing from posting the link above.

I have used this service in Cuba in the 3G Internet works pretty well in cities but not so well in the countryside. The $25 for 100 MB and their $100 for 500 MB are currently the best deals you can get for mobile Internet in Cuba. Your phone must be unlocked in order for the SIM card to work.

However the data does go very quickly so I had to ensure that I kept all of the data services turned off on my phone except for when I needed to use it. I burned through 100 MB in four days using mostly WhatsApp for texts, a couple of short FaceTime audio only calls, and some very brief web browsing.

If you're going to use your phone to navigate I suggest you download an offline map or download sections of Google Maps so that you can use those without consuming any data. I was able to download (while in the US) all of Havana to my Google Maps and was able to get driving directions without using any data whatsoever.

Hello,
"An American Tourist in Fidel's Cuba" is a helpful guide for Americans interested in traveling to Cuba. In his book, Mark Goldman brings us into the Cuban world, introducing us to the outside markets, vintage cars from the 1950s, Cuban families enjoying their time together, young girls wearing colorful and elaborate dresses while sitting on the grounds and having pigeons perch on them, and the old haunts of one of America's most treasured writers, Ernest Hemingway.

Follow this link to get a digital copy of the book at http://www.amazon.com/American-Tourist-Fidels-Cuba-ebook/dp/B00DDGPYM2

You're approaching the topic with a number of misconceptions and an apparent lack of knowledge of Cuba's history.

On the issue of elections, I suggest you begin by picking up the excellent "People's Power: Cuba's Experience with Representative Government" by Peter Roman (Professor at CUNY in New York). Regardless of your view on the legitimacy of Cuba's electoral system, Roman covers the nuts and bolts of the process very well.

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In a nutshell: there are no political parties in Cuba; the Cuban Communist Party is forbidden under the constitution from proposing / endorsing any candidate; individuals opposed to the socialist nature of the government may offer themselves as candidates, but it's highly unlikely they would garner enough support from their neighbours in the nomination process to ever land on the ballot, let alone gain a seat in municipal / provincial / state-level legislative bodies.

Which books have you already read and found valuable?

My recommendations:

"Cuban Revelations: Behind the Scenes in Havana" by Marc Frank


"Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know" by Julia E. Sweig


This one is kind of dry and academic, but I found the part about agricultural policy particularly illuminating: "Cuban Economic and Social Development: Policy Reforms and Challenges in the 21st Century".

I also have "The Revolution Under Raul Castro: A Contemporary Cuba Reader" and "Back Channel To Havana: The Hidden History of Negotiations Between Washington and Havana" but haven't started them yet. They look promising.

Cafe Cubita Coffee. 8.8 oz vacuum pack, includes a beautiful burlap bag. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KO90PW0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_z1O7xb5H42DSQ

Well, this one might not be actually made in Cuba apparently.

It seems that your comment contains 1 or more links that are hard to tap for mobile users.
I will extend those so they're easier for our sausage fingers to click!


Here is link number 1 - Previous text "One"

Here is link number 2 - Previous text "Two"



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^Please ^PM ^/u/eganwall ^with ^issues ^or ^feedback! ^| ^Delete

I'd recommend Diccionario de la Música Cubana by Helio Orovio (translated as Cuban Music From A to Z). Orovio was a Cuban musicologist, considered by many Cuban musicians the most knowledgeable person on the subject.

Edit: Found it @ amazon

Diary of a Survivor: Nineteen Years in a Cuban Women's Prison

https://www.amazon.com/Economic-War-Against-Cuba-Perspective/dp/1583673407/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1481312492&sr=8-15&keywords=cuba+embargo

Peer reviewed economical analysis

A good book to read about big business in Cuba prior to the revolution is Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba.

It's focus is obviously on the Bacardi family. It also shows how they were involved in the fight for Cuban independence and positioning the company for post revolution.

Okay... yo encontré un versión de este libro en linea y en audiobook- https://www.amazon.com/Se-alquila-planeta-Spanish-Yoss-ebook/dp/B00UKJS1SO

Y, no es probable pero si tu estas en universidad en España, WorldCat dice que La Biblioteca Nacional de España y el Red de Lectura Pública de Euskadi tiene copias, en teoria. Desaforunadamente, no hay muchas opciones en linea para esto libro que yo puedo encontrar.

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Si tu estas interesado en leer mas sobre Cuba, yo tengo recomendaciones!

Yo también soy medio cubano y estudiando español en mi universidad. Yo tomé una clase sobre la revolución cubana el año pasado y también hacía un trabajo de investigación en Cuba por dos meses esto verano pasado.
Para la clase sobre la revolución, nosotros leímos:

Back Channel to Cuba by William Leogrande

Contesting Castro: The US and the Triumph of the Cuban Revolution by Thomas G Paterson

The War of 1898: The United States and Cuba in History and Historiography by Louis Perez

Y diferentes partes de libros de Ada Ferrer

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Para aprender más sobre gente que salieron de Cuba, familias Cubanas, relaciones entre de familias Cubanas etc., una profesora me recomendó estos libros:

Roberto G Fernández "Raining Backwards" y otros cuentos cortos

Dreaming in Cubano de Cristiana García

Dr. M Gonzalez (no estoy seguro en esto, no puedo leer todo el papel que ella escribió)

Gustavo Pérez Firmat "Life in the Hyphen" (no es Cubano, pero es sobre la identidad latinx y culturas entre de paises, creo que habla un poquito sobre cubanos? No recuerdo.)