Page 22 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Cuba

20  INTRODUCING CUBA

no single designated venue for dancing in
Cuba, and any excuse is good enough to
improvise a party. One of the official cele-
brations is the quinceañera, the debut in
society of 15-year-old girls, who get dressed
up like elaborate prom queens for the
occasion. Besides this lively, fun-loving side,
Cubans have an equally strong domestic
one, and love to spend time at home with
the family, in front of the television or
chatting from ever-present rocking chairs.
The Political System
Playing dominoes, a national pastime
The present Constitution of the Republic
The Lifestyle of Cuba, approved by 97.7 per cent of
Cubans are generally hospitable, talkative voters (in Cuba people can vote at the
and sociable, largely due to their tight-knit age of 16), was promulgated in 1976.
communities and collaborative In 1992 various amendments were
culture. It is rare to pay even a introduced, including guarantees
fleeting social visit and not be for foreign investments, some
offered refreshment. City flexibility in foreign trade,
neighbourhoods are built more religious freedom,
cheek to jowl, and people and the introduction of
talk to one another from direct election by universal
their balconies, or from the suffrage of deputies to
steps or pavement in front the National Assembly.
of their house. The Constitution states
The whole day can be A trio of musicians playing in the street that Cuba is a socialist
spent outside, thanks to the republic whose supreme
perennial tropical summer. People governmental body is the National
spend a lot of time outdoors, chatting, Assembly of People’s Power (the
playing dominoes, flirting, cycling equivalent of Parliament), elected
around the streets alive by universal suffrage every five years.
with colour, voices and
sounds, or simply sitting.
Music is everywhere and
is the soul of the island.
Melodic thanks to the
Spanish heritage, and
dynamic due to the hypno-
tizing rhythm of Afro-Cuban
percussion, religious and
passionate at the same time,
music is a vital part of daily
life, like dance. Even the
smallest Cuban town has a
Casa de la Trova, a Cuban
institution, where local bands
play and young and old alike
go to dance. Indeed, there is A 15-year-old girl preparing for her debut in society

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