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Cuban cuisine is influenced by Spanish, Portuguese, African, and  Indigenous cultures. Truly, the heart and soul of our food is family and friends enjoying traditional Cuban recipes with oneanother. White rice, plantains, and beans, are staples of Cuban food. Marinated beef, chicken, and pork cooked in savory and sweet spices are an integral part of the Cuban taste as well. Garlic, greenpeppers, oregano, cumin, and bay laurel leaves are also used to give food a distinctly Cuban feel and taste.

The revolution and breakdown of U.S. relations in 1961 profoundly changed Cuban food. Cubawas cut off from its source of imports and had to find other sources to keep the economy going. When Fidel Castro declared the revolution Marxist-Leninist, their ties strengthened with the SovietUnion. New food products entered the Cuban diet with wheat, pasta, pizza and yogurt becoming indispensable. Chicken and fish took precedence over pork, although pork is still the meat of choice. Beef andlard almost disappeared from the diet

While western Cuba is heavily influenced by its European roots, eastern Cuba (the old Oriente province) is influenced by African and Caribbean cuisines. Perhapsthe biggest contribution is the Congrí oriental, which is cooked red beans and rice. This is due to the close proximity to the other Spanish-speaking islands, where red beans are more prevalent thanblack beans. Many foods from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico can be found in eastern Cuba with their own twists. One example would be the mofongo (called fufú de plátano in Cuba), which ismashed plantains stuffed with pork, chicken, or seafood. The name "fufu" comes from Western Africa.




El típico plato cubano es el ajiaco, una sopa de viandas y carne. La ternera y el cerdo
sonlas carnes de mayor demanda; es tradicional cocinar el cerdo a la púa, asado al
horno entero, destripado y afeitado. También se consume mucho pescado, sobre todo
en las ciudades. El más apreciado es...