Cienfuegos is a sea-side city on the southern coast of Cuba with a population of about 150,000 people, about 155 miles east of Havana. Known as "La Perla del Sur"(Pearl of the South) because of its beautiful bay, it also is the capital of the province of Cienfuegos.  Its elegant nineteenth century architecture and wide and straight streets reflect French influence from immigrants from Bordeaux and Louisiana who settled there in the 19th century, and plantation owners who fled Haiti after the revolution there. In 2005, UNESCO inscribed the urban historic Centre of Cienfuegos on the World Heritage List.

Within this beautiful city, a small and vibrant community of about 40 people is practicing their Judaism against the odds. Rebeca Langus Rodriquez, a school teacher, is the community’s leader and her home, which she shares with her husband Ramon and her two children, David and Danielito, is the center of the Cienfuegos Jewish community. Community members come there for services, to study Hebrew and Jewish history, and to read the religious texts and other books that Americans have donated and fill up the bookshelf with the Star of David which Ramon built. 

Rebecca warmly welcomes visitors to her small second-floor apartment where she tells visitors about how pleased she is to be able to practice her Jewish faith and the challenges the community faces that include the need for medicine and basic necessities of daily life (such as vitamins and underwear), the lack of books about Jewish life and Hebrew and religious texts, and substandard housing.

Cienfuegos, Cuba, congregation profile

Numbers of members: approximately 40

Leader: Rebeca Langus Rodriquez

Type of synagogue: mixed