"ENTENDEMOS DE AMOR, NO DE ODIO."
Cuba, March 2020
“Entendemos de amor, no de odio” is the visual and documentary diary of a trip to Cuba, in March 2020, a few days before Central and Latin American countries closed their borders due to Covid-19.
Cuba found itself at a critical moment: while in the social imaginary of Cubans there is a national identity linked to the Socialist Revolution, in the minds of some this identity is beginning to be deconstructed and questioned, with a desire and attraction for a country more open to foreign capital, which in their view would improve the shortage problems experienced due to the US blockade, then worsened by the Trump administration.
On one side, it was possible to see paintings of Fidel Castro in parking lots, statues of José Martí in the city's emblematic squares, photographs of Camilo Cienfuegos in the kitchens of Cuban homes. On the other hand, young people clung to their cell phones in the few places in Havana city where internet was available and tried to be notable baseball players, so that they could be selected for teams in the United States.
In this split, what will remain of the ideals of the Revolution and what will be left behind? Will Cuba continue to be a country with lively streets, free from crime and permeated by affection between neighbors? Or will the entry of capital infiltrate relations of coldness, distrust and lack of collective sense?
Cuba found itself at a critical moment: while in the social imaginary of Cubans there is a national identity linked to the Socialist Revolution, in the minds of some this identity is beginning to be deconstructed and questioned, with a desire and attraction for a country more open to foreign capital, which in their view would improve the shortage problems experienced due to the US blockade, then worsened by the Trump administration.
On one side, it was possible to see paintings of Fidel Castro in parking lots, statues of José Martí in the city's emblematic squares, photographs of Camilo Cienfuegos in the kitchens of Cuban homes. On the other hand, young people clung to their cell phones in the few places in Havana city where internet was available and tried to be notable baseball players, so that they could be selected for teams in the United States.
In this split, what will remain of the ideals of the Revolution and what will be left behind? Will Cuba continue to be a country with lively streets, free from crime and permeated by affection between neighbors? Or will the entry of capital infiltrate relations of coldness, distrust and lack of collective sense?
“Entendemos de amor, no de odio” records this moment of fear on the part of the elderly, of curiosity on the part of the youngest, and of a country that despite the scarcity experienced due to the US blockade, maintained love and affection on the streets.
