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Havana
Photograph by Holly Wilmeth/Aurora Photos
An Old Havana street serves as a field of dreams for young boys engaged in one of Cuba’s national passions—baseball. The island nation regularly fields one of the world’s top international teams, and many Cubans have competed in Major League Baseball. But number one fan Fidel Castro certainly isn’t among them—stories of his professional baseball prowess are pure fantasy.
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Ciego de Avila
Photograph by Jose Azel/Aurora Photos
On many Cuban roads talk of horsepower remains unrelated to engine strength. This sunrise scene captures the morning commute near Ciego de Avila.
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Viñales Valley
Photograph by Jose Azel/Aurora Photos
A farmer collects milk straight from the source in Cuba’s picturesque Viñales Valley. The valley’s strange knolls, called mogotes, evidence eons of underground erosion. The hard limestone hummocks are all that’s left standing of an ancient limestone plateau.
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Woman With Cat
Photograph by Daniel Gautreau, My Shot
A colorful Havana woman enjoys an enormous cigar. The smokes are one of Cuba’s defining symbols—“Havanas” are renowned worldwide and have special cache among many aficionados in America, where their import remains illegal.
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Street Corner
Photograph by Jon Smith, My Shot
Young boys and girls, some still in school uniform, socialize on a street corner on a warm Cuban evening. Fidel Castro’s government stresses free, public education for all Cubans, and the nation, though poor, has a high literacy rate.
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Havana Bar
Photograph Guido Alberto Rossi/Photo Library
An amorous couple cozies up to the bar at Bodeguita del Medio, an Old Havana hot spot popular for its tasty mojitos and historic association with legendary writer Ernest Hemingway. Though it's not clear if Papa really did drink here, the Cuban government has franchised out some 50 restaurants of the same name, heavy with Hemingway memorabilia, in cities from Palo Alto to Prague.
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Trinidad Car
Photograph by Glen Mitchell, My Shot
A proud owner poses with his classic car in Trinidad. Fans of Detroit’s golden age find heaven on Cuban highways, where necessity and invention combine to keep vintage American models rolling decades after they came off the assembly line.
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Lizard
Photograph by Mike Paterson, My Shot
A colorful lizard eyes the world from its perch atop a coconut. Cuba, an isolated island, is home to many unusual species. Some 80 percent of its reptiles and amphibians are found nowhere else on Earth.
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Cuban Flag
Photograph by Jose Azel/Aurora Photos
A man peers past an enormous Cuban flag to survey the scene below his Havana balcony. The banner celebrates the success of the Cuban Revolution, which transformed the island’s government during the 1950s.
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Dominoes
Photograph by Ewa Skibinska, My Shot
Streetside domino games can be seen in many a Cuban neighborhood. The nation’s mild climate allows Cubans to spend much of their time outdoors, and typical household activities often spill out into the street.
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Quinceañera, Havana
Photograph by Sven Creutzmann/Mambo Photo/Getty Images
A happy teenager cruises along Havana’s waterfront Malecón to her quinceañera reception, the 15th-birthday party that, in Latin culture, marks her coming of age.
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Diving, Havana
Photograph by Luca Nizzoli Toetti/Getty Images
Youngsters beat the heat by diving into the sea along Havana’s waterfront Malecón, a popular spot for swimming, sunbathing, and socializing. Romantic couples often promenade along its gracefully curving sweep, passing historic homes and modern skyscrapers while enjoying Havana’s intimate relationship with the sea.
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Castillo del Morro, Santiago de Cuba
Photograph by Christopher P Baker/Alamy
Today Cuba’s “second city,” Santiago de Cuba, has an African ambiance, but it also has strong links to a Spanish past. Castillo del Morro was built nearly 500 years ago to pirate-proof the entrance to the Bay of Santiago. Modern reenactments notwithstanding, the castle last saw action as a fortress when U.S. ships attacked the city in 1898.
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Trinidad Skyline
Photograph by Shannon Nace/Lonely Planet Images/Getty Images
Trinidad’s historic center, which dates to the 16th century, remains largely unmarked by the modern world. So does this view of the city’s natural surroundings, including the Sierra del Escambray mountain range.
Learn about our National Geographic trip to Cuba.
