2640 CUBA - The Cuban tobacco

Since tobacco and sugarcane were brought to the Caribbean by conquistadores, the two plants - which thrive in the Cuba's tropical climate - have been profitable cash crops in Cuba. In fact, of all countries in the world, Cuba dedicates the second largest land area to tobacco cultivation. Despite the U.S. embargo, Cuba's international market is strong: Tobacco ranks as the third largest source of hard currency for Cuba and the "Isle of Rum" exports some 36 million liters of rum a year to 120 countries.

2617 CUBA (Matanzas) - Finca Campesina in Ciénaga de Zapata

Located on the Zapata Peninsula in the southern Matanzas province of Cuba, Ciénaga de Zapata (Zapata Swamp) is not only known for its size but also for being the best preserved wetlands in all of the Antilles. It features exceptional species of flora and fauna, many of which are endemic. Near the junction of the National Highway and the Road Cienaga de Zapata is Finca Campesina (Peasant Farm), a large estate that tries to recreate the rural ambience of the island.

1325 CUBA - Old Havana and its Fortification System (UNESCO WHS)

Havana extends mostly westward and southward from the bay with the same name, which is entered through a narrow inlet and which divides into three main harbours. The Almendares River traverses the city, entering the Straits of Florida a few km west of the bay. Founded by the conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar in 1514 or 1515, it was originally a trading port and suffered regular attacks by by buccaneers, pirates, and French corsairs, but subsequently, due to its strategic location, it served as a springboard for the Spanish conquest of the continent.

0291 CUBA - San Pedro de la Roca Castle, Santiago de Cuba (UNESCO WHS)

"When I came to Juana, I followed the coast of that isle toward the west, and found it so extensive that I thought it might be the mainland, the province of Cathay; and as I found no towns nor villages on the sea-coast, except a few small settlements, where it was impossible to speak to the people, because they fled at once, I continued the said route, thinking I could not fail to see some great cities or towns; and finding at the end of many leagues that nothing new appeared, and that the coast led northward, contrary to my wish, because the winter had already set in, I decided to make for the south, and as the wind also was against my proceeding, I determined not to wait there longer, and turned back to a certain harbor whence I sent two men to find out whether there was any king or large city. They explored for three days, and found countless small communities and people, without number, but with no kind of government, so they returned", wrote Columbus in 1493 in a letter to Luis de Santángel (the finance minister of Ferdinand II), in which he announced his discoveries in the previous year in the New World. He claimed Cuba (named Juana, after Juan, Prince of Asturias) for the Kingdom of Spain, and this situation will remain unchanged for 400 years, although many others have yearned the island.