The Most Famous Cubans
Carlos Acosta
Carlos has been a wonderful ambassador for Cuban culture and dance over the last 20 years, traveling the world in a number of productions and as the lead dancer in the English Ballet Company for over a decade.
Acosta is considered by many to be one of the best ever male ballet dancers and having seen him myself live twice, his physical and dancing ability is quite stunning.
For those of you who have not already read his very inspiring autobiography, I strongly recommend reading “Pig’s Foot” by Carlos Acosta.
His tough childhood experience and his drive towards stardom as a dancer are heart-warming and a great read.
Carlos is now planning to develop a dance academy in Havana through the Carlos Acosta International Dance Foundation.
Funding is now underway for this School of Ballet in Havana.
More on Carlos from his site: www.carlosacosta.com/
Fidel Castro
There can be few people who have not heard of Fidel Castro. Fidel passed away in 2016 at the age of 90, having led the Cuban revolution and fought against the Americans in the Bay of Pigs.
If you are interested in a great in-depth article on the history of Fidel, here’s a great article on him from The Guardian, or see the movie below!
Watch Fidel the Movie
Gloria Estefan
As a Cuban emigrant to the United Stated, Gloria Estefan, together with her band the Miami Sound Machine, put the Cuban rhythm and beat very much into mainstream music.
As one of the best-selling artists of the 1980s, Gloria’s music was perhaps one of the best marketing tools for Cuba during that time.
Who can ever forget the song “Conga” by Estefan?!
Jose Canseco
Cuba without question is a baseball country and it has produced some world-class players over the last few decades.
One of the most famous of these players was José Canseco Capas Jr, who played in the U.S. in Major League Baseball.
Jose was born in Havana ut left at the age of 1, in 1965, when his family was permitted to leave the island.
Jose got his first opportunity to play at the minor league level in 1982 with the Oakland Athletics, playing for them for 3 years before then going pro with the same club.
After 7 years with the Oakland Athletics Jose then moved to the Texas Rangers, where he spent another 3 years, before then heading to the Boston Red Sox and then back to his real baseball home at Oakland, before retiring.
