Cuba Trivia Questions

Four choices a card, from Isla Juana and the tocororo to ropa vieja.

Question 1 of 10

See all 48 with answers
Jamaica is to the south of Cuba and the Bahamas to the north. Which large island is to the east?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

Scored round: 20 questions, no time limit.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with any school, exam board or quiz show. Bank checked October 3, 2026.

How it works

Here are trivia questions about Cuba in four rounds: the island and its keys, its birds and first peoples, the wars that led to the republic of 1902, and the music and food.

Read the full guide

From the Sierra Maestra to son

The name and the archipelago asks about Pico Turquino, the Jardines de la Reina and the Yucatán Channel. Wildlife, first peoples and the colony has the zunzuncito, Baracoa and the encomienda. Buildings, books, music and the table covers El Capitolio, the tres, danzón and moros y cristianos.

A history round on the wars of independence

Wars of independence and the republic follows the Ten Years' War, the Pact of Zanjón, Dos Ríos and May 20, 1902. Whichever choice you tap, the card colors the correct one and adds a short reason; the source link sits below it.

Questions and answers

What are some really hard trivia questions for Cuba?

Which island group lies off the south-central coast? What was coartación? Which pact ended the Ten Years' War? The answers are the Jardines de la Reina, buying oneself out of slavery, and the Pact of Zanjón.

How were the answers checked?

Each was read on October 3, 2026 in the Wikipedia article Cuba, linked under the question. Events after 1958, living people, the naval base, rum, cigars as brands and baseball are left out, with facts other packs ask, such as the battleship of 1898.

What is the national bird of Cuba?

The tocororo, or Cuban trogon, which lives only on Cuba. The national flower is the mariposa, and the bee hummingbird, the smallest known bird in the world, is native to the island too.

When did Cuba become independent?

Formally on May 20, 1902, as the Republic of Cuba. Spanish rule had ended on January 1, 1899, when Havana was handed to an American general after the war of 1898.

All 48 questions with answers

The name and the archipelago 12

  • Between which months does the drier season of Cuba usually run? Answer: November to April. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • The Canarreos Archipelago holds the second-largest piece of Cuban land. What is it called? Answer: Isla de la Juventud. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Four clusters of cays ring the Cuban mainland. Which of them is found along the south-central shore? Answer: The Jardines de la Reina. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Historians believe the word Cuba was taken from the speech of which Caribbean people? Answer: The Taíno. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • In which two months are hurricanes most common in Cuba? Answer: September and October. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Isla Juana was the first European name of Cuba. Which prince was it meant to honor? Answer: John, Prince of Asturias. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Jamaica is to the south of Cuba and the Bahamas to the north. Which large island is to the east? Answer: Hispaniola. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Mexico lies west of Cuba across which channel? Answer: The Yucatán Channel. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • One reading takes the name Cuba from the Taíno word coabana. What would coabana mean? Answer: Great place. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Pico Turquino, the top of Cuba, stands in which mountains of the southeast? Answer: The Sierra Maestra. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Which current carries warm water from the Equator to the Cuban coast? Answer: The Caribbean Current. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Which winds blow across Cuba all year from the northeast and take the edge off the tropical heat? Answer: The trade winds. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba

Wildlife, first peoples and the colony 12

  • The arrival of the first people on Cuba, about 6,000 years ago, is linked with the extinction of which native animals? Answer: Sloths. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Cubans call their national flower by which name, the Spanish word for butterfly? Answer: Mariposa. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Descendants of the first settlers still lived as hunter-gatherers in the far end of Cuba when Columbus came. What were they called? Answer: The Guanahatabey. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Havana was not always the seat of the colony's government. When did it take that role? Answer: 1607. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Hernando de Soto set out in May 1539 with some 600 followers to search for gold in what is now the Southeast of the United States. From which port did he leave? Answer: Havana. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • In 19th-century Cuba, what was coartación? Answer: Buying oneself out of slavery. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Spanish is the official language of Cuba. Which is the second-most spoken? Answer: Haitian Creole. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • The Taíno were forced to work for the colonists under which system, which resembled feudalism? Answer: The encomienda system. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • The tocororo is the national bird of Cuba. What kind of bird is it? Answer: A trogon. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • What is the zunzuncito of Cuba? Answer: A tiny hummingbird. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Where did Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar found the first Spanish settlement on Cuba in 1511? Answer: Baracoa. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Which Taíno practice did the Spanish carry to Europe, from where it spread around the world? Answer: Tobacco smoking. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba

Wars of independence and the republic 12

  • By which name is the army revolt of September 1933 known, after the rank of the men who led it? Answer: The Sergeants' Revolt. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • By which year was the abolition of slavery in Cuba complete? Answer: 1886. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Calixto García tried to start another war in 1879. By which modest name is it known? Answer: The Little War. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • The Cuban rising of 1868 grew into a long conflict known by which name? Answer: The Ten Years' War. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Havana was handed to an American general on January 1, 1899. About how many years of Spanish rule ended that day? Answer: 400. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • In which battle of May 1895 was José Martí killed? Answer: The Battle of Dos Ríos. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • In which city did the exiled José Martí found the Cuban Revolutionary Party in 1892? Answer: New York City. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • José Martí set down his political views in 1895 in a manifesto named after which Dominican town? Answer: Montecristi. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • On which day in 1902 did Cuba gain formal independence as the Republic of Cuba? Answer: May 20. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Which pact of 1878 ended the first Cuban war of independence, with a promise of greater autonomy? Answer: The Pact of Zanjón. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Which sugar planter led the rebellion of 1868 and freed his slaves to fight beside him? Answer: Carlos Manuel de Céspedes. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Who was the first president of the Republic of Cuba? Answer: Tomás Estrada Palma. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba

Buildings, books, music and the table 12

  • El Capitolio in Havana was inspired by which building? Answer: The United States Capitol. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Havana, Camagüey and Cienfuegos have historic centers on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Which other Cuban colonial town is named with them? Answer: Trinidad. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • In which city did the Cuban bolero originate in the 19th century? Answer: Santiago de Cuba. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • José Martí was a writer as well as a patriot. Which movement did he lead in Cuban literature? Answer: The Modernist movement. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Large fortifications were built on colonial Cuba in response to which threat? Answer: Piracy. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Moros y cristianos is a staple of the Cuban table. What is it? Answer: Black beans and rice. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Ropa vieja is a classic Cuban dish of what? Answer: Shredded beef. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • The tres was invented in Cuba by fusing elements of the Spanish guitar and which other instrument? Answer: The lute. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Which composer is named for the international acclaim of Cuban classical music? Answer: Ernesto Lecuona. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Which Cuban novelist is named as important in the magic realism movement? Answer: Alejo Carpentier. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Which form is the central one in Cuban music, the basis of mambo, cha-cha-chá and salsa? Answer: Son. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba
  • Which genre was the official musical genre and dance of Cuba? Answer: Danzón. Source: Wikipedia: Cuba