Cuba is an ongoing and enduring enigma. By any conventional measure, this Caribbean island should be a speck in the global geopolitical ocean. Yet for nearly half a century, this complicated nation of 11.4 million people has commanded the world stage in a manner wholly incommensurate with its small size and economic insignificance. A former colony of Spain and playground of American high rollers, Cuba struck out on its own in the late 1950s, and the nation remains a hot topic in the corridors of the world's power brokers. Fiercely independent but rarely free, and the unlikeliest of major players, Cuba arouses passions like perhaps no other nation.
For decades, those inflamed feelings have focused on the Communist regime that one man, Fidel Castro, brazenly engineered. Hated and worshiped in almost equal measure, Castro -- the longest-surviving head of state in the world -- has defied critics, confounded pundits, and frustrated his own followers. Slowly, though, the world is learning that Cuba is more than a coveted property in a high stakes game of Risk. Wider exposure to Cuban culture (especially its music), the island's colonial treasures, and the Cuban people has given rise to a love affair that transcends international politics.
