Overview

Cuba is a land of contradictions that is easy to enjoy but difficult for first-time visitors to decipher. The largest island in the Caribbean, it is a tropical paradise that Christopher Columbus called the most beautiful land that human eyes have ever seen. It is famous for the romantic charm of its crumbling colonial cities, the beauty of its white sand beaches, and its irresistible Afro-Cuban dance beats. But it is also a land of shortages and tight government control, which has been in a sixty-year political standoff with its superpower neighbor, the USA. The homegrown version of single-party socialism created by Fidel Castro has kept Cuba in a Cold War time warp that only now is beginning to change. As travel restrictions are relaxed US tourists can once again visit the island. Greater flexibility toward private enterprise is opening it up to boutique hotels and high-quality home-based restaurants. There is a boom in special-interest tourism for cyclists, hikers, birdwatchers, and scuba divers, while foreign entrepreneurs are eagerly exploring investment opportunities. Culture Smart! Cuba will take you beyond the usual descriptions of Havana nightlife, vintage cars, and hand-rolled cigars and give you an insider's view of an island that is teetering on the brink of historic change. It offers insights into Cuba's fascinating history, national icons, unique food, vibrant cultural scene, and world-renowned music. Practical tips help business travelers gain an edge on the competition. But most of all, this book aims to show you how best to break the ice and get a better understanding of the infinitely resourceful Cuban people, who despite severe hardships and shortages over many years remain optimistic and fiercely proud of their heritage and culture.

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9781857338485

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Reviews

Offer glimpses into the psyche of a faraway world. New York Times

Offer glimpses into the psyche of a faraway world. <i>New York Times</i>

Offer glimpses into the psyche of a faraway world. --New York Times As useful as they are entertaining. --Easy Jet Magazine Full of fascinating, as well as common sense, tips to help you avoid embarrassing faux pas. --Observer The perfect introduction to the weird, wonderful and downright odd quirks and customs of various countries. --Global Travel Culture Smart! has come to the rescue of hapless travellers. --Sunday Times Travel

Author Information

Mandy Macdonald is an Australian writer, researcher, editor, and translator living in Scotland. A graduate of Sydney and Cambridge universities, she specializes in international cooperation with developing countries, with particular emphasis on the EU, Latin America, labour rights and gender equality. She has lived and worked in Cuba as a translator and has spent time in Central America as a worker on human and gender rights, and has written articles and books on Cuba and Central America. Her work on European development cooperation took her to Brussels in the 1990s, and she continues to visit Belgium, among other European countries, as an amateur musician and performer of Renaissance music. After a long career spent working for international and European governmental and nongovernmental organizations, Mandy is now an occasional freelance editor and writer, particularly on music. A new venture is poetry, and since 2011 her poems have appeared from time to time online and in print. Her experiences in many countries, and especially her own country, Australia, form a rich source of material for her poetry. Mandy continues to travel as often as possible, and believes that travelling with open eyes and mind and a sensitive attitude towards local cultures and customs is the best possible kind of globalization. Russell Maddicks is a BBC-trained journalist, who has spent the last 20 years exploring the countries of Latin America and publishing his experiences in print, online and in social media. A graduate in Economic and Social History from the University of Hull, England, he is fluent in Spanish and loves nothing better than mastering the country-specific slang of the Latin American countries he visits. He has worked as a reporter and editor at the Daily Journal newspaper in Caracas, the editor of a webzine aimed at the Latin American youth market called Loquesea! (Whatever!), and as a regional specialist at BBC Monitoring covering political developments and general news. In 2015, his book Culture Smart! Ecuador was awarded the Gold Prize at the Pearl of the Pacific International Travel Journalism Awards at the Ecuadorian International Tourism Fair (FITE) in Guayaquil. He is also the author of the Bradt Guide to Venezuela, and has written articles for numerous international publications, including BBC Travel, National Geographic Traveller, the Mexico News Daily, Latino Life, ArtNews, and Songlines. An accomplished public speaker, he has given illustrated talks on Latin American travel destinations at the Globetrotter s Club, the Telegraph Outdoor and Adventure Travel Show, Destinations: The Holiday and Travel Show, and at UK colleges and universities. You can follow his Latin American travels on Twitter and Instagram

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