Naturesmart Cuba Map by Vandam: Eco Discovery Map

Cuba: An Accidental Eden..? Cuba’s place in history and its thriving wildlife found nowhere else are testament to its strategic location where the Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico converge. Strict environmental laws, low population and the absence of capitalist development and materialism helped preserve the fragile balance between people, the land and sea. Scientists claim it is like being in the Florida keys 150 years ago abundant endemic flora and fauna, flourishing coral reefs patrolled by giant groupers and schools of sharks. An accidental Eden? Not exactly. Stringent government rules combined with an organic agriculture due to a lack of fertilizers have preserved Cuba as a living laboratory of endemic riches and agricultural sustainability. The limited number of cars and boats together with the absence of conspicuous consumption have conspired to conserve the environment. Cuba did something radically different and could become the model of how to do it right ecologically. An opportunity the rest of us have lost. Could it be that Cuba’s lasting revolution is green not red? La Habana: The cultural lodestar. Since its founding in 1515 Havana’s cultural flora and fauna has flourished as a result of the cross polination between Old Worlds Europe & Africa and the New Caribbean, New Orleans & New York creating new explosive hybrids. Pulling from its African rhythms and Iberian, Franco-Creole symphonic roots, Havana conjured a music so powerful it went around the world three times in the 20th C alone. Classical composers such as Saumel & Cervantes invented danzas and contradanzas that with syncopation laid the foundation for Danzon, Rumba, Ragtime, Salsa and Latin Jazz. If we believe that architecture is froz