Cubans Abroad
The United States is home to the largest number of Cubans outside Cuba, particularly in Miami and other major cities in Florida as well as in New Jersey, California and New York. Smaller numbers of Cubans live in many other countries around the world, especially in Latin America and Europe (especially in Spain, with 111,185; see Immigration to Spain; and the United Kingdom, with around 1,083; see Cuban British). There are about 9,395 in Canada (see Cubans in Canada), and in Brazil 1,343 (see Cubans in Brazil).
After the founding of the republic in 1902, a considerable migration arrived from the Iberian peninsula to the island, between them were more than a few former Spanish soldiers who participated in the wars, and yet it never created an obstacle for the respect and affection of Cubans, who have always been proud of their origins.
In December 2008, Spain began accepting citizenship applications from the descendants of people who went into exile after its brutal 1936-39 Civil War, part of a 2007 law meant to address the painful legacy of the conflict. This new Historical Memory Law may grant up to 500,000 passports to Cubans of Spanish ancestry. Under the law, the descendants have until December 2011 to present themselves at the Spanish embassy in their home country and turn in documentation that proves their parents or grandparents fled Spain between 1936 and 1955. They do not need to relinquish their current citizenship.
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