Cuba
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Country Name
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba.
Location
Cuba is located in the northern Caribbean where the Caribbean Sea, The Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic Ocean meet. It is east of the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico), south of both The U.S. state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Haiti, and north of both Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.
Capital
Havana.
Reason for Naming the country
Historians believe the name Cuba comes from the Taíno language, however "its exact origin is unknown". The exact meaning of the name is unclear but it may be translated either as 'where fertile land is abundant' (Cubao), or 'great place' (coabana). Fringe theory writers who believe that Christopher Columbus was Portuguese state that Cuba was named by Columbus for the town of Cuba in the district of Beja in Portugal.
Flag
The Cuban flag was adopted on May 20, 1902. The Cuban flag consists of five horizontal stripes of equal width. The top, middle, and bottom stripes are blue while the other two are white. There is a Red horizontal triangle on the left side of the Cuban flag pointing toward the middle. In the middle of the triangle lies a white five-pointed star.
The blue stripes refer to the three old divisions of the island; the white stripes represent the strength of the independent ideal.
The red triangle symbolizes equality, fraternity, and freedom, as well as the bloodshed in the island's struggle for independence.
Finally, the white star symbolizes absolute freedom among the Cuban people.
*Flag Facts:
- The flag of Cuba and the flag of Puerto Rico are similar.
Puerto Rico adopts the same design as the Cuban flag but inverts the colors. The Puerto Rican flag has red and white stripes and a white star on a blue triangle. The Cuban flag has blue and white stripes and a white star on a red triangle.
Language
The official language of Cuba is Spanish and the vast majority of Cubans speak it. It is known as Cuban Spanish and is a form of Caribbean Spanish. Lucumí, a dialect of the West African language Yoruba, is also used as a second language. Haitian Creole is the second most spoken language in Cuba and is spoken by Haitian immigrants and their descendants. Other languages spoken by immigrants include Galician and Corsican.
Religion
Cuba is officially a secular state. Religious freedom increased through the 1980s. Roman Catholicism is the largest religion, Despite less than half of the population identifying as Catholics. Cuba also hosts small communities of Jews, Muslims, and members of the Bahá'í Faith.
Currency
Peso.
Time Zone
-05:00 GMT.
-04:00 GMT.
Government Regime
The Republic of Cuba is one of the world's last remaining socialist countries following the Marxist–Leninist ideology.
Climate
In Cuba, the climate is tropical, with a dry and relatively cool season from late November to mid-April, and a rainy and muggy season from late April to early November. The climate is fairly uniform from one area to the other, but there are some differences that are worth considering.