HispanicHeritageNotesRT15

http://www.countryreports.org/country/Cuba.htm http://www.factmonster.com/country/profiles/cuba.html
 * Cuba **
 * Thesis:** We should keep Hispanic Heritage alive because of the culture they brought to the U.S.A.
 * Sports and recreation:**
 * 1) Cubans likes to play baseball more than soccer
 * 2) Baseball was brought to Cuba in the 19th century by North Americans
 * 3) Cubans also enjoy dancing, watching television, listening to the radio, playing music or dominoes, and going to baseball and boxing matches
 * 4) Cuba is a sporting nation whose achievements far surpass what one would expect based on the size of the island nation and its economy
 * 5)  Cuba has for years competed in several sports at the top international level and often dominated or at least brought home a few medals
 * 6)  The secret of Cuba’s success must be partly attributed to the socialist government of Cuba who have invested heavily in the promotion of sports in Cuba
 * 7)  Today, millions of young people in Cuba actively participate in amateur sports which means when it comes to selecting for the national sports teams, the sports officials in Cuba have a wider pool from which to choose. Below are just a few of the sports in which Cuba has excelled over the years
 * Clothing family and education:**
 * 1) Casual dress and lightweight slacks during the day with more formal wear in the evenings
 * 2) Shorts are popular at the beach but no shorts are allowed at night in public places
 * 3) Very little new homes have been built in Cuba since the early sixties, therefore it is not unusual for three generations to live in one apartment
 * 4) In the countryside, some people still live in traditional Cuban “bohíos”
 * 5) These are palm wood huts with roofs made of palm leaves
 * 6) With the help of child-care centers, as well as maternity benefits, many women have entered the work force
 * 7) In 1974, the Family Code was passed, which set out the responsibilities of married couples
 * 8) The Code gave men and women equal rights and responsibilities for housework, child rearing and education
 * Religion:**
 * 1) 85% of Cuban people are Roman Catholic
 * 2) Babalaos (priests) help santeros (Santería believers) find solutions to problems relating to health, money, love or the legal system
 * 3) The practice of Santería may involve dancing, wearing a special charm or beads or sacrificing a pigeon or a chicken
 * 4) Santería festivals are celebrated with dances, drumming, songs and offerings that are specific to each ceremony
 * 5) During these festivals, the santeros dance
 * 6) A believer who goes into a trance represents the orisha for the group and delivers messages, advice and wisdom to other believers
 * 1) Cuba is a multiracial society with a population of mainly Spanish and African origins
 * 2) The largest organized religion is the Roman Catholic Church, but evangelical protestant denominations continue to grow rapidly
 * 3) Afro-Cuban religions, a blend of native African religions and Roman Catholicism, are widely practiced in Cuba. Officially, Cuba has been an atheist state for most of the Castro era
 * 4) In 1962, the government of Fidel Castro seized and shut down more than 400 Catholic schools, charging that they spread dangerous beliefs among the people
 * 5) In 1991 the Communist Party lifted its prohibition against religious believers seeking membership, and a year later the constitution was amended to characterize the state as secular instead of atheist