WowCuba

01/27/2025

🇨🇺📢As of June 30 this year, all visitors to Cuba for tourism purposes must obtain an electronic visa through the official website evisacuba.cu. (RHC)

01/21/2025

For 4 years, Cuba was on the U.S. government’s State Sponsors of Terrorism list though Cuba doesn’t sponsor terrorism. The designation was meant to asphyxiate Cuba’s economy by isolating it from the world. Biden took Cuba off the list 6 days ago. Trump put Cuba back on today.

Trump also revoked another of Biden’s last-second moves, effectively reinstating a list of “restricted entities” in Cuba with which U.S. companies and individuals are banned from doing business.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/initial-rescissions-of-harmful-executive-orders-and-actions/

01/21/2025

Shame on them is right.
Unsurprisingly, Trump cruelly put Cuba back on their list of terrorist-sponsoring countries today, reversing a short-lived celebration of a baby progressive step.

Article in comments.

01/15/2025

You don't wanna miss this Superjam!
Friday's event at the Havana Amphitheater features 50 artists from Cuba & New Orleans and is FREE! Tickets available at locations listed in post.

01/14/2025

We visited the BLS Industria y Tecnología SRL factory and laboratory today in Havana and were Wowed by the # of local products they're developing both for in-house production and then manufacture by other Cuban businesses. They're not without challenges - such as fuel shortages affecting local limestone shipments from Artemisa & Pinar del Rio provinces, and other materials such as silica sand currently being prioritized for glass production in the Mariel special development zone, making it more difficult to secure for some of their construction material projects.

Some of the innovative materials they're experimenting with in their lab include sawdust, ash, rice and coffee husks, oregano, sisal fiber, oregano, residual oil, molasses, recycled egg containers, seaweed and much more.

The concept of affordable, local, innovative and ecological building materials is what Cuba needs most today. Fewer importations, more local production, industrial recycling and circular economy. Our thanks to Ileana for taking the time to tour us around and share so much information - we'll be back!!!

For more info, see links in comments.

01/07/2025

Soft travel

Where you go to a place and stay longer, interact more with locals, explore things at your own pace and truly relax and enjoy discovering new experiences, gastronomy and people that make places places unique.

We hope it's not just a passing trend, but rather how travel returns to its roots, and leads to more tolerance, appreciation of cultural differences. Transformation beguns when you travel to listen, learn and take the best of those experiences home and put them into practice.

In the second article in my travel trends 25 series, I investigate soft travel—or journeys that encourage simplicity, and ease and which are beneficial to mental health.

01/07/2025

Ahora si!!!!
Viajar con proposito y tomar el tiempo para realmente conocer y apreciar un destino es volver a los raices del turismo.

Una "tendencia" que esperamos que vuelve a ser mas que una moda, sino un objetivo de una mayoria de viajeros. Asi nos entenderemos mejor.

Especial TTC: Las tendencias del “Soft Travel” para los viajes en 2025 Por: José Luis Perelló Al viajar no siempre se deja atrás el estrés y las exigencias. Nos esmeramos en perfilar plannings interminables y cumplirlos a rajatabla: no perdernos ese taller de artesanía, tener wifi, llegar a...

01/07/2025

This Friday in Old Havana

01/06/2025

We had a big family dinner on Jan. 1 and I was gathering (and yes, even hoarding) ingredients for some special desserts in advance of the holidays, but left the freshly grated coconut to the very last moment on Dec. 30. Santos grated it while I waited at the market at 19 & B in Vedado. He had on 50's music and the older lady in front of me was gifted a nut he found inside her coconut. I was asking what he does with the coconut shells since I've been thinking some Cuban entrepreneur should be making coconut bowls or rustic buttons. They're destined to artisans, he said, but the next time I see him I think I'll share the ideas I'm posting below in the comments. You never know!

12/27/2024

Flying to Cuba on Air Canada? You won't have to complete a tourist visa on board anymore - when you complete your digital D'Viajeros form you'll automatically receive your electronic visa. Just make sure you have the QR code available for scanning on arrival.

¡Atención!

Los pasajeros de Air Canada que viajen a Cuba ya no recibirán la Tarjeta de Turismo a bordo. ¡Ahora es más fácil que nunca! Simplemente hay que completar el formulario DViajeros y recibirás tu visa electrónica.

12/26/2024

Some much-needed wonderful news to end the year.

In this article, we journey to the Caribbean island country of Cuba to explore how Chinese solar technology is helping this energy-strapped nation reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, lighting the way toward a brighter and more sustainable future for thousands of families and businesses.

12/11/2024

One of our accommodation partners, Luis Deulofeu, was commissioned to make a film about Cuba's shift to the bicycle in 1994. That period of economic crisis and fuel scarcity is known as the "Special Period" and is what brought us to here 3+ decades ago.

You can view it on YouTube. Enjoy!

Forever. Dirección Luis O. Deulofeu.Documental. Video. Color. Producciones Trimagen. Cuba. C 1994. 13´ 33´´SinopsisCon las bicicletas chinas marca Forever,...

12/08/2024

If you make it to FIART in Havana this month, make sure to stop by Siempre a Mano's booth in the rear of the main pavillion. Mery's Trinidad-based project is unique and the quality of the needlework is excellent.

And if you're fortunate to get to Trinidad, Siempre a Mano is based in Plaza Mayor and you can participate in a learning experience at the workshop.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100046563055767

Sus manualidades rozan la perfección. Tejidos, bordados, deshilados y otras maravillas textiles muestran el sello indiscutible de María Caridad (Mery) Viciedo González, a quien la artesanía trinitaria le debe mucho. Y no solo por la maestría —que también distingue a muchas mujeres y hombres ...

12/05/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/CLKvx156uNqNazY7/

🌿✨ Introducing the Catalogue of the Plants of Cuba! ✨🌿

We are thrilled to announce the publication of the Catalogue of the Plants of Cuba, a groundbreaking resource that highlights the incredible diversity of Cuba's flora, with a special focus on our unique endemic species. 🌎🌺

This catalogue, produced by the SSC Cuban Plant Specialist Group, is more than just a list of plants—it’s a collaborative effort by 54 Cuban and international experts to ensure the accurate classification, distribution, and conservation of Cuba’s native and naturalized plants. By standardizing plant data and emphasizing the importance of endemic species, this project is a vital tool for conservationists, researchers, and nature enthusiasts alike.

💡 What’s inside?
📖 Comprehensive inventories of plant families in Cuba, including native, endemic, and exotic species.
📍 Detailed provincial and extra-Cuban distributions of each species.
🌳 Categorization of plant habits and their associated ecosystems.
🆕 52 new taxonomic updates, ensuring up-to-date information for conservation efforts.

Together, let’s celebrate and protect the incredible biodiversity of Cuba! 🌱💚

📥 For more details or to get involved, visit [https://www.planta.ngo/en/catalogo-de-plantas-de-cuba-2024/].

11/30/2024

is right beside the Tuambia warehouse on the Anillo del Puerto road in Havana. It features street food containers with offers including hamburgers, sandwiches/bocaditos, pastas, fried fish/chicken/fríes, tacos, quesadillas, ceviche, pizza & sweets. There's a beverage counter in the middle. They give you a card when you go in; whatever you consume goes on it, and you pay on the way out.

On the other side (payable at each area by cash or transfer) are the food market stalls including seafood, butcher, and a small supermarket. Prices in national money, and not super expensive. It belongs to Al Carbon, by Chef Ivan Justo.
We tried their fish & chips for lunch, and bought some hake (merlusa), sausage, bacon and cream cheese to take home. The girl at the fish counter told us alot of Cubans 60 yrs + take their picture beside the salt cod (bacalao) they have hanging up, since it was common when they were young, but almost unheard of nowadays in Cuban markets.
🌐www.wowcuba.com

11/29/2024

I can't tell you how much I admire this family's vision and commitment to a sustainable model. They practice what they preach and live by example. For those of who seek to get back to the roots of travel and return home with true insight to put into practice, I highly recommend visiting José A Casimiro. La Finca Del Medio and his multi-generational family farm.

Over the past three decades, the Cuban people have made great strides in scaling out and up the practice, science and movement of agroecology. This ... read more >