What is Cuba's official, most widely spoken language?

The story behind the answer

Spanish is Cuba’s official and most widely spoken language because the island was a Spanish colony from the early 1500s until 1898. Government, education, and media operate in Spanish, and nearly all Cubans speak a distinctive Caribbean variety known as Cuban Spanish.

Fun context: Cuban Spanish blends Iberian roots with African influences from the transatlantic slave trade and has borrowed words from English and Russian due to historical ties. You’ll also find pockets of Haitian Creole speakers in eastern Cuba and the liturgical Lucumí (Yoruba-derived) in Santería. Memory tip: In the Caribbean, think “S-F-E”: Spanish in Cuba/Dominican Republic/Puerto Rico, French in Haiti, English in Jamaica—Portuguese is mainly for Brazil, not the Caribbean.