Believing That You Can
Christopher Columbus arrived on our coast in 1492 he said:
“This is the most beautiful land that human eyes have ever
seen." I was born in 1988, when my country's economy was
on the verge of a collapse due to the disappearance of the
Soviet Union and the tightening of the economic “embargo”
of the United States. I was a very happy child despite of all
the problems with the food scarcity, the electricity, and all
kinds of commodities. Besides all this, I grew up without
any kind of worries. I enjoyed being spoiled by my
grandparents. I went to a school with my neighborhood
friends and I played in the streets without fear of being a
victim of violence. Cuba is a unique country with an
incredible history, culture, and people. The world knows
few things about Cuban history. For many people in the
world, Cuba is only a tropical paradise where the cane
grows and Castro dictates, but it is more than that. My
country was one of the first places conquered by the
Spanish and the natives suffered colonial exploitation.
The typical Cuban rebellion led us to fight against Spain
to achieve our independence. Our national hero, José Martí,
was the principal fighter to achieve unity and independence
for Cubans. He devoted his energy to exalt our greatness
and to make his country on a nation where everybody was
treated equally. The Republic was born with many problems
but Cubans soon began to be known in the world for their
carefree way of dealing with problems. In recent decades,
Cuba was the scene of a nuclear conflict in 1961 when
Russian missiles were installed in our land, we joined the
struggle against apartheid in Africa, and we are contributing
to the peace process in Colombia.
A particular element of Cuba is the cultural diversity.
There has been a vast influence from Spain and Africa.
Cuban music is heard all over the world and the diversity of
genres is one of the most distinctive features. On the other
hand, visual arts have been developed through the centuries
to the present. Cuban literature has a distinguished place
between the greatest books of the world. In spite of Cuba
being an underdeveloped country, it has one of the most