Celebrities can’t get enough of Cuba—and the feeling is mutual
LatestCuba might be getting its best tourism promotion from a highly valuable space: celebrities’ Instagram accounts.
In the new era of U.S.-Cuban relations, stars have been flocking to the island, proof that Cuba is undoubtedly again a chic travel destination. And celebrities have been more than willing to share their Cuba experiences online, uploading photos to Instagram.
This week, legendary rocker Ozzy Osbourne became the latest celebrity to drop in on Havana. The former Black Sabbath frontman arrived in Cuba over the weekend with his son, Jack. According to Cuba’s state-run newspaper, Granma, the trip isn’t entirely focused on cigars and mojitos. Ozzy Osbourne is reportedly filming a documentary for the History Channel.
But Ozzy’s son wasted little time in capturing some of their first few moments on the island.
The steady stream of celebrity visits in recent months, from Mick Jagger, Usher and Katy Perry to name a few, appears to have tacit support from the Cuban government. Granma has been publishing articles on many of the celebrity visitors in stories that at times can read like biographical introductions of the stars to ordinary Cubans.
Sometimes, enthusiasm for the visits can seep through Granma’s articles. When Mick Jagger traveled to Cuba in October, a Granma headline gushed: “Mick Jagger revoluciona the world from Havana.”
“Cubans have been waiting for a while, perhaps too long, for a visit like this,” Granma wrote in one of two stories on Jagger’s trip.
In the streets, Cubans have rushed to grab selfies with celebrities whenever they spot a big name star. It’s not just big name musicians and entertainers who are giddily taking in Cuba. This week Virginia Gov.Terry McAuliffe led a trade mission to the island. But he couldn’t resist tweeting out a picture of him climbing behind a classic 1950s Chevy.
Let’s take a quick look at some of the stars who have Instagrammed from Cuba: