If there’s one Caribbean island that bursts at the seams with culture, art, and life, it’s Cuba. With a population of over 11 million, it’s the largest island in the Caribbean, with Haiti, Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands as neighbors.

As reported by Essence, some “800,000 African slaves arrived in Cuba between 1789 and 1820.” But Cuba vacillates on embracing its connection to Africa. Attempts to dissolve Black presence picked up in the nineteenth century, when Europeans were encouraged to emigrate to Cuba.

The 1920s gave rise to the Afrocubanismo movement, which pushed Blackness to the forefront, allowing it to “become part of the national identity.”

Like other Caribbean islands, Cuba is the meeting point of many cultures. But the African influence is omnipresent; a stamp which can’t be erased, and that’s something Black travelers will appreciate.

Here are 13 things to remember when visiting Cuba.

santiago de cuba

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