Most Marielitos have enjoyed success in the U.S., while others have had greater difficulty than earlier Cubans in establishing themselves. Since then, the INS has sent all Cubans stopped in the water back to Cuba, while allowing those who reach land to stay. From the beginning of modern Cuban immigration of refugees in 1959 and continuing until today, there have been large numbers of family reunification cases. Most early Cuban refugees to the U.S. were of Spanish origin, while later refugees and immigrant groups have included more people of mixed or African origin. Culture It is almost as difficult to characterize Cuban culture as it is to characterize American culture.
Differences exist according to social class, background, ethnicity, and other factors.
Although many Cuban refugees are from urban backgrounds, significant numbers will have lived in the city for less than one generation, hence may have more rural than urban outlook on life. Almost forty years of communist rule have resulted in a culture that is definitely Latino in nature, yet to some extent has moved away from such traditional influences as the Catholic Church. For example, in a startling testimony to the power that necessity and Marxism can exert over religion, large numbers of Cuban women have had multiple abortions as a means of birth control. The language of Cuba is Spanish, though there may be differences between Spanish spoken by Cubans and the Spanish of Mexicans, for example. Many new refugees and immigrants speak only Spanish.