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If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll appreciate Cuban desserts. On an island where sugar cane is the most vital crop, Cubans approach sweet seriously. In addition to showcasing sugar, many desserts are creamy concoctions that provide a perfect complement to the country’s delicately spiced main dishes. Guava, another local ingredient, is also a dominating flavor in deserts. Spanish influence runs throughout Cuban cuisine—and the country’s confections are no exception. These five represent a taste of the island’s delicious after-dinner fare.

Flan Cubano

Few American movies have been filmed in Cuba since its revolution, but the island’s warm, sunny climate, low cost of living, and 1950s ambiance make it attractive to outside filmmakers. The country has hosted nearly 20 “foreign” film shoots, from the expected (The Buena Vista Social Club; Our Man in Havana) to the unusual: Cuban Rebel Girls and Hello Hemingway among them.

Here’s a look at some of the best-known English-language films made in, or connected to, Cuba:

Fifty years ago, Beatles music, considered a decadent symbol of capitalism, was banned in Cuba. But much has changed.

I vividly remember running back to an artist’s studio, in the stifling mid-afternoon heat, to buy a second naïve art painting by Cuban artist Ileana Sánchez before closing time. Frolicking in Camagüey, the UNESCO World Heritage Site traditionally associated with the arts, this was Cuban art ecstasy at its best. Equally so, I diligently added to my souvenir collection snippets of Cuban crafts: seashell earrings, colorful dolls, and several leather wallets; from a treasure trove in a beach-friendly, secluded Caibarién, a recycled paper notebook.

The Marabana Havana 10K, half and full marathon is a bucket list race that allows runners to explore Havana alongside our Cuban running friends. As the foremost provider of legal people-to-people travel to Cuba since 2000 and under a general license from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, we are offering Americans the rare opportunity to participate in the 2017 Marabana Havana Marathon NOW $600 OFF per couple! Join us to become part of marathon history.

The Tin Hao restaurant is the first Chinese restaurant specializing in eastern cuisine to open in Central Havana in the last 50 years. Unlike other paladares, or private restaurants, it is not geared toward the tourist industry. Instead Tin Hao is catering to the thousands of mainland Chinese currently studying or working in Cuba’s capital. Leave your Spanish phrase book at the hotel and brush up on your Mandarin and Cantonese, this is the real deal.