[Scanian]

Yeah, I’m half Cuban and some of my Puerto Rican friends call me “Alturo” (I’m on the tall side, so that makes me chuckle. “Don Alturo” makes me feel old!). In Lares, PR, there is a Corsican influence so, you used to hear hear people saying “sa com e?” which is perfect Italian for “sabe cómo es?” and “lechi di poti” for “leche de pote.” And the Cubans of Havana are way different from the Cubans from the Santiago area, who are more like the folks from the eastern Caribbean. Isolation will do that for you.

I was an only child and my folks used to leave me in the crib with a dog in the room for company and a big console radio playing. After a while, people started saying, “hey, that kid talks like a radio announcer.” I guess I did. I liked big band music too.

[Clemenza]

Cuban Spanish is very heavily influenced by that of the Canary Islands, as the first settlers came from Gran Canaria. There is also something of a Gallego influence on folks from Havana and Santiago, to say nothing of the African influence. Puerto Rico and DR also have heavy Afro-Carib influence on the accents, especially noticeable in places like Loiza on PR.

I've never been a fan of Caribbean Spanish, and prefer that spoken in the interior of Colombia.