Cuba is an extensive island territory. It is the largest archipelago in the Antilles and has a privileged geography, climate, and overflowing with life.
It is said that when Christopher Columbus set foot on the territory we now know as Cuba, he could not contain an amazed expression, bowing his head and immediately affirming that he had arrived at 'The most beautiful land that human eyes had ever seen.'
Due to its geographical location, Cuba is a hot and very humid country, which makes it one of the ideal representatives of the carefree and vacation-like Caribbean tradition.
Endemic Aboriginals of the Island Cuba
Most of the historical references we have about the original aborigines of the island come from the Spanish conquerors themselves.
From the first landings, three different Indo-Cuban ethnicities were distinguished, the Guanahatabey, the Siboney ethnicity, and the Taíno ethnicity.
The Diet of Cuban Aboriginals
Breaded Fish
As usual, Cubans make many fish-based recipes. Breaded fish cannot go unnoticed in the gastronomic repertoire, as it is the best that the citizens of the Caribbean island know how to do.
Before the Spanish conquest brought foreign foods to this land, the island's aborigines already had an enormous and varied source of nutrients. Fruits such as pineapple, guava, soursop, pomegranate, papaya, and sapote were abundant.
Contrary to popular belief, imagining them as mere gatherers, the aborigines already knew how to cultivate the land efficiently and rotate crops. As expert farmers, they cultivated some vegetables such as corn, yuca, sweet potato, peanut, and chili (known as pepper in the rest of the world), among others.
Due to the abundance of fishing in fresh and salt waters, the aborigine's diet was also rich in protein from many species of fish, mollusks, and seafood, and there are even records of them consuming shark meat.
Among the foods from the sea, there were tilapias, crabs, eels, shrimps, bivalves (oysters and mussels) in general, and even some species of turtles. Likewise, there is reliable record of hunting manatees for food. A single manatee could feed an entire tribe.
Reptiles (iguanas and crocodiles) and rodents were also abundant, which complemented the aborigine's meaty diet. It seems that the preferred cooking technique for animal-origin foods was the so-called 'barbecue,' a tradition that not only endures to this day but has spread and popularized worldwide.
A Very Rich Diet
The Cuban aborigine had a very nutrient-rich and healthy diet. What almost led them to extinction was slavery and the inhuman treatment they were subjected to by the Spanish colonizers.
In fact, it was with the diet of the Cuban indigenous peoples that the Spanish could survive on the island while they began to export their own European foods, which at the beginning of the conquest arrived in large ships only once or twice a year. The first colonizers had to initially substitute carbohydrates from bread with starchy foods like yuca, corn, and beans.
Plátano chatino
Plátanos Chatinos, known as tostones, are fried plantains, smashed and fried again. This technique gives them a crispy texture on the outside and soft on the inside. They can be served with sauce or simply with a bit of salt to enjoy.
Although the conquest virtually exterminated the aborigines of the Cuban ethnicities, their gastronomic culture remains almost intact in the roots of every home on the island. We can even trace the tamale and cornbread back to the pre-Columbian aborigines.
