Unfixed Pothole on Cuban Street Turns into Urban Banana Plantation
What began as a broken water pipe in Havana’s El Cerro neighborhood is now a small banana plantation, after local authorities forgot to fix the pothole. Cuba’s infrastructure crisis is a well-known fact, with around 70% of the country’s roads deemed in “regular” or “poor” condition, but some streets are in such a bad state […]
Coppelia Park – The World’s Largest Ice Cream Parlor
Located in Havana, Cuba, Coppelia Park is the world’s largest ice cream parlor. Also known as the ‘Ice Cream Cathedral, it serves around 30,000 customers per day and up to 600 at a time. Built in 1966, Cuba’s ‘Parque Coppelia consists of a two-storey domed pavilion inspired by Oscar Niemeyer’s iconic Cathedral of Brasilia outside […]
Alleged “Sonic Attacks” at Cuban Embassy Shrunk Victims’ Brains, Study Suggests
Between 2016 and 2018 a number of US and Canadian diplomats working at an embassy in Havana, Cuba, reported symptoms like headaches, nausea and memory loss after hearing mysterious noises. The phenomenon became known as the “Cuban Sonic Attacks”, but Havana authorities have so far denied any wrongdoing. However, a recent study suggests something did […]
The Shocking Story of a Cuban Community Who Chose to Infect Themselves with HIV to Escape Persecution
It’s hard to imagine why anyone would voluntarily infect themselves with one of the deadliest viruses in human existence, but for “Los Frikis” – a Cuban punk community living under the regime of Fidel Castro during the 80s and 90s – injecting themselves with HIV-infected syringes was the easiest way to escape persecution and police […]
Weird Jobs of the World: Guarding John Lennon’s Glasses in Cuba
Aleeda Rodriguez Pedrasa has one of the most unusual jobs in the world – she gets paid by the Cuban government to make sure that a statue of John Lennon in Havana always has a pair of glasses on when tourists come to take a picture with it. In 1964, Fidel Castro declared a ban on […]
Fishing with Condoms in Cuba
They are the world’s most popular birth control product, but in Cuba, condoms are also ingeniously used to catch expensive ocean fish that they would not otherwise be able to reach. In a country where the communist government is extremely paranoid about illegal emigration to the United States, and strictly controls who can own and use boats, […]
Man Spends 50 Years Visiting Every Country in the World
Calling Albert Podell ‘well traveled’ would be an understatement. 78-year-old Podell, a former Playboy editor, can truly say that he’s seen it all, after spending half a century visiting every country in the world. He’s encountered pretty much everything on his travels, right from guerillas in Yemen, to flying-crab attacks in Algeria, and police interrogations […]
Party Like a Caveman at This Cave Nightclub in Cuba
Disco Ayala, in Trinidad, Cuba, is not your average party destination. It’s located on the outskirts of town, in a natural cave that was once the home of a notorious serial killer. After walking down the dusty street leading up to the tiny cave mouth, revelers take the stairs leading down to the gated entrance […]
Artist Trains Pigeons to Smuggle Cigars from Cuba
Some artists are willing to do anything for their masterpieces, including risking their freedom. American Duke Riley is one such artist. He walks the fine line between legal and illegal in his new project called “Trading with the Enemy” which involves smuggling cigars from Cuba to Key West using pigeons specially trained for this shady […]
Danza Voluminosa – Cuba’s Plus-Size Dance Group
If you thought the world of ballet dancing was reserved exclusively for the slim and petit, well, it’s time to think again. Because the Cuban dance troupe ‘DanzaVoluminosa’ (literally meaning Voluminous Dance) is here to prove you wrong. Comprising of eight dancers and a combined total weight of over 1,600lbs (more than 200lbs per dancer), […]
Cuban Sculptor Proves Tobacco Can Be Used for Better Things than Smoking and Chewing
Janio Nunez is a talented Cuban artist who has the gift of making incredible sculptures exclusively from tobacco leaves. He creates works of art both tiny and life-size that prove there are better things to do with tobacco than smoking it. Janio’s fascination with tobacco began as a little boy, watching his grandparents roll cigars […]
Cuban Hand-Rolls the World’s Longest Cigar
The world’s longest cigar measures 81.80 meters and was rolled by cigar-maker Jose Castelar Cairo, better known as “el Cueto”. Jose Castelar and his assistants started working on the giant Cuban cigar at the end of April and finished on Tuesday, May 3rd. British representatives from the Guinness Book of Records acknowledged that the 67-year-old […]
Valle de la Prehistoria – Cuba’s Jurassic Park
Valle de la Prehistoria, near the city of Santiago de Cuba, is a prehistoric-themed tourist attraction that features life-size models of over 200 dinosaurs and cavemen. Located inside the Bocanao National park, Valle de la Prehistoria spreads over 11 hectares of land and is as close as it can get to a real-life Jurassic Park. […]