Informative Speech On Cuban Culture

|Normally, when children fall asleep in the car, their parents carry them back to their warm, cozy bed where they will sleep for the rest of the night. But on this particular night instead of waking up where I normally would, I found myself on a small plane headed toward a mysterious tropical island. Now before I reveal my topic, understand that few people have had the privilege to visit this specific island, so I shall share some information that I have researched over this island. |Today I will be informing the entirety of the class about another chapter of my life: the history, culture, and modern day views of Cuba.
|First, I shall discuss the history behind the island itself. According to the article entitled, “Visiting the Republic of …show more content…
According to Havana-guide.com, a “traditional Cuban cuisine is a combination of Spanish, African, and Creole cuisines.” A typical Cuban meal consists of four main components: rice, beans, a side, and some sort of meat. For example, “Rope Vieja” which literally translates to “old clothes” is shredded beef simmered in tomato sauce that is served with rice, beans, and either yucca or fried plantains. |Another cultural aspect of the Cuban people is their music. Latinmusic.about.com tells us that Cuba has had the greatest influence on today’s Latin music. In continuation, Cuban music is considered the melding of African rhythms and melodies but with lyrics inspired from Spain, and some of the more famous genres that Cuba has contributed to are Latin Jazz, salsa, reggaeton, and rumba. I have a short video clip sharing the kind of style most Cuban music has. In this song, you can identify the strong percussion background that paired with blaring trumpets and strong lyrics stating that life is like a carnival: its crazy at times but you have to live it to the fullest. |Finally, the last cultural aspect that I will be discussing is the clothing. Havana-guide.com discusses the “Cuban” style of clothing to consist of casual cotton or linen clothing. To shed further light onto this topic, the women on the island dress more feminine and colorful by wearing short skirts or tight jeans with a blouse or t-shirt dubbed the “pull-over” in Cuban slang. The men however wear jeans or cotton pants paired with a T-shirt of a Guayabera which is the popular “Latin clothing” in the Caribbean. The school children have a strict uniform in place as well as some public services. Now that I have gone over some of the many traditions of the Cuban people, let me share with you what Cuba is like in the present day