- Cuba at first sight
I recently had an opportunity to travel to Havana to do some research for an article on the Cuban film industry (more about this later).
Americans are generally forbidden from traveling to Cuba due to the longstanding trade embargo in place since 1961. However, I was fortunate to have been granted special permission for this trip from the State Department.
A few interesting facts:
- Havana has a population of approximately 2.5 million
- Cuba's overall population is about 12 million
- Cuba was discovered by Columbus in 1492
- Cuba was hit hard by the collapse of the Soviet Union (who had been providing annual subsidies to Cuba in the amount of $4 to $6 billion per year)
- The difficult economic aftermath in the 1990's is still known as the "Special Period" in Cuba
- Cuba has one of the highest per capita populations of medical doctors in the world
- More than 30,000 Cuban medical professionals live and work in Venezuela, partially in exchange for beneficial oil imports from Venezuela
