Take a Look at Obama and His Family Strolling Through Streets of Havana

President Obama became the first U.S. president to step foot in Cuba since Calvin Coolidge in 1928, as he began a historic three-day visit to the island on Sunday. It was a rainy afternoon in Havana when Obama and his family stepped out of Air Force One and were greeted by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez. President Raúl Castro regularly greets foreign dignitaries at the airport but was absent this time, as the formal welcome ceremony will take place on Monday.

The visit culminates a 15-month effort to normalize relations between the two countries that began in December 2014. With the trip, Obama is seeking to make Washington’s shift in stance toward the island irreversible.

“This is a historic visit,” Obama said as he greeted U.S. embassy staff and their families at a hotel in Havana. “It’s an historic opportunity to engage with the Cuban people.”

Obama and his family then braved the rain and went on a sightseeing tour of Old Havana and the city’s 18^th-century cathedral. A few hundred people gathered to applaud and cheer on the Obamas. At one point people could even be heard chanting, “USA! USA!”