Cuba is the Caribbean's largest, most diverse island. With unprecedented changes continuing apace since the withdrawal of Fidel Castro in early 2008, it's also the most dynamic.

Cuba pulsates with laughter, music, humour and yes, difficulties. All life's ingredients coalesce in Cuba's tropical mix and nowhere more so than in its magnetic capital. Even the name Havana (La Habana) evokes images of antique cars, killer cigars and revolution. Today's Havana tempers revolutionary fever with the fervent desire for hard cash, but the city remains true to its heart, its passion permeating its steamy alleys and salt-sprayed sidewalks.

The exquisite architecture of Old Havana makes it the Americas' best-preserved colonial centre. Taking a stroll through shady plazas to the world famous Malecón with no goal beyond an ice-choked mojito feels like stepping back in time.
 
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Habana Vieja (Old Havana) is being restored through a programme that feeds tourist revenues into renovation efforts. But not all that glitters is gold: some 300 buildings a year become uninhabitable or collapse outright, and visitors are offered the jarring sight of brightly painted, restored buildings alongside crumbling ones.

Even the worldliest travellers can suffer from culture shock in Havana, where Al Capone-era cars cruise alongside late-model Audis and children in pressed uniforms skip to school. Contradictions are rife, but trumped by a live-for-the-moment attitude embodied in the ubiquitous Cuban rhythms.

The island's rich history is nowhere more apparent than in the mix of beats that make up Cuba's music and the diversity of its people - a warm, lively and ingenious mélange of European, Asian and African roots.

Cuba gained independence from Spain in 1898, after two hard-fought wars. The United States entered the battlefield late, took credit for victory early and commandeered Cuban politics and industry for 60 years. Americans flocked to Havana, which had turned into a mafia-financed playground of cheap liquor, prostitution, gambling and fancy hotels and nightclubs.

However, corruption was rife and the gap between rich and poor was growing ever wider. A group of guerrillas, under the leadership of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and Camilo Cienfuegos, finally succeeded in overthrowing the dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959 and the Americans fled, taking much of Cuba's wealth with them.

In 1961, the American government, organised a mercenary force to overthrow Castro and company. However, much to the embarrassment of the Americans, their forces suffered a resounding defeat at the Bay of Pigs (Playa Girón). When Cuba declared itself socialist, the US imposed a full trade blockade, including travel restrictions to Cuba by Americans, that has been in place ever since.

The revolutionary government is credited with sweeping improvements in health care and education and the economy is tentatively expanding, helped by the rapid rise in tourism - the country's top export earner. Tourism is also a goldmine for entrepreneurial individuals, who make visitors feel welcome (albeit sometimes besieged) with their upbeat and infectious spontaneity.