Ropa Vieja in Spanish literally means “old clothes.” As the national dish of Cuba, it gets its name from the shredded strands of meat and vegetables that resemble colorful rags. No one knows exactly where the dish originates, but there is some chatter that claims the recipe was brought to Cuba from the Canary Islands.
Rising from the earth like sentinel soldiers, the Mogote dos Hermanas stand erect amidst acres of otherwise flat fields. The “twin sisters” are part of a legion of mogotes that pepper the other-worldly landscape. These bizarre, rocky hillocks were formed during the Jurassic Period when rainfall ate away at the valley floor, dissolving the limestone and leaving only small pockets untouched.
Old Havana is cloaked in mystery. Pirates and treasure, plunder and intrigue are all part of the story of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Founded in 1519 by the Spanish in the natural harbor of the Bay of Havana, the city was a stopping off point for the treasure-laden Spanish Galleons that crossed the Atlantic to the New World.
As the first and last of the Spanish colonies in the Caribbean, Cuba has a Spanish influence that you can taste. Once a major trading port, Havana welcomed boatloads of immigrants from the European country and, along with them, their distinct culinary flavors.
Spilling from alleyways and open-air bars are the pulsating sounds of Cuba’s music scene. Rich and steamy, the sound here is born from the marriage of African rhythms and European melodies, Congo drums tapping out the back beat while Spanish guitars strum the tune.
It’s hard to believe we were in Cuba – when I was growing up this country was so mysterious and inaccessible. But thanks to YMT's new program, we are able to see this land and explore its culture. Today we were to visit a tobacco farm to see how the cigars of Cuba were prepared.
We wound through mountains and fertile valleys on our trip down from Havana to our destination – a tobacco farm in Vinales, Cuba, on the western end of the island. I could see why many compared this Caribbean country to New Zealand’s landscapes – it was gorgeous! Vinales is in the Vuelta Abajo district of Cuba, and is considered one of the premier tobacco growing areas of the country, and many tobacco enthusiasts consider it the best tobacco in the world. Our guide reminded us that Christopher Columbus was credited with first introducing these fine tobaccos to Europe.
The small population in the Vinales Valley is engaged mainly in growing tobacco, and old methods such as hand tilling are still widely used. Seedlings are grown in special seed beds, and after 45 days are ready to be planted out, when the tobacco seed is actually planted into the surface of the soil. The farmer will visit the growing plant around 150 times during the growing season to care for the plants. The wrapper leaves for the outside of the cigar are grown under 
