This case study is an offbeat ethnographic investigation told via the lens of street art. Though deep immersion into this magical island, the modern realities of socialist revolution reveal a paradox. Cuba is a portal into the future, but you can only see by stepping into the past.
The genesis of this case initially started as an idea for a documentary film that I planned on making with a friend of mine.
The point of travel wasn’t for leisure or hedonism, but to understand what life was really like living in a communist country.
You can’t understand how to begin implementing solutions to real problems, until you really understand the context, culture, and value system surrounding said place/problem.
The main premise of the exploration was framed around a simple question. Who is more free - those with tech and cash or those who have not been corrupted by it?
An ethnography is just a fancy way of saying your intention is to understand a culture by immersing yourself through direct participation.
Ethnography explores ‘in the field’ to create a detailed first hand account of the current circumstances surrounding a group or community.
Coming from a decade of UX consulting, this was actually a natural extension of my interest and skill set (qualitative experience design).
The aim is to gain a deep understanding of the customs, behaviors, and beliefs of people and their culture.
For as long as I can remember, I have been studying street art wherever I went.
There are hidden messages displayed that can’t always be voiced out in the open.
Street art is secret messages hiding in plain sight.
Sometimes, you even catch street artists having conversations with one another based on where they ‘tag’ or curate their work relative to other artists' work.
In 2010, I lived in Argentina for five weeks with a friend of mine.
He worked remotely while I went to Spanish school in the morning and hung out with musicians and shot street art in the afternoon.
I got sick and missed a class, and the kindness of my teacher offered a makeup date for me.
I told her that I wanted to walk the street together and have her translate the cultural context of what I was seeing.
Argentina experienced a brutal economic collapse post 2008, and the street showed it.
While I was in Buenos Aires, Néstor Kirchner (think Argentina’s version of the Kennedy dynasty) suddenly passed away from a heart attack.
The subsequent street art exploded all over the banks downtown.
Cubans aren’t allowed to speak freely, so the street art was going to serve as their voice.
The title of this case: ‘Te Estoy Mirando’ translates to ‘I’m Watching You’.
There is an old joke in Cuba - the locals say Cuba is so safe because half the country is police.
The joke being that everyone works for the government, and if you're not careful one of your neighbors will rat you out.
The idea came from street art that I saw all colorfully drawn on a wall.
The translations said ‘here there is no fear’ and ‘yesterday they sent me to shit, and it’s incredible the amount of known people known people that I met there.
The next day, the whole wall was literally whitewashed, obfuscating the unspoken truth that everyone knew but dared not speak publicly about.
One day when I was walking up a random street in Habana Vieja (old Havana), I came across a homeless man who was drawing and speaking what sounded like gibberish.
He didn’t make eye contact but definitely knew I was there. As I gave the nod and walked away, he blurted out ‘but I never talked!’
It’s difficult to truly understand what the consequences of speaking the truth really are - the moment you say or do anything against the state, you’re disappeared.
There is no real rule of law or presumption of innocence until proven guilty like we have in the United States.
The net effect is that Cubans become like the happy zombie.
Their exteriors reflect their indomitable spirit, finding happiness under difficult conditions.
No matter where you go or what you do, the street is full of extra eyes and ears - watching and listening.
Case in point, as I became transfixed on the man, the cart, and his wares - I failed to notice that I was being cased out by two women in the background.
I spoke to them for about fifteen minutes until they realized that I wasn’t going to eat at their restaurant. They were very nice and curious about why I was solo in Cuba.
The CDR: Committees for the Defense of the Revolution are “the eyes and ears of the revolution.’
Their goal is to ‘promote social welfare and report on counter-revolutionary activity.’
As of 2018, 8.4 million Cubans out of 11.2 million were registered as CDR members.
Some homes with CDR logos looked like nice places relative to the rest of Havana.
Others looked like they fit right into normal life.
The spirit or vibe of Havana feels like a modern-day post apocalyptic Pirates of the Caribbean.
It was as if Las Vegas had been teleported into an island, and injected with a sultry shot of quixotic debauchery added for good measure.
The constant haze of classic son music and cheap liquor obfuscated the realities of a poor country.
Cuba wasn’t just 3rd world, it was trapped in time.
Cuba’s magic may be accounted for by the fact that the island runs along the southern axis of the Bermuda Triangle.
Dilapidated buildings crumbling onto the street are common.
But the bones of colonial Spanish beauty still exist.
Cuba has a long history of occupation and revolution dating back to Columbus in the 1400’s.
The Spanish, Russians, French, English, and Americans all had a hand in shaping Cuba's unique history.
It’s unclear if ‘The Wall Lives Forever’ is a reference to the embargo when Castro sent people ‘to the wall’ for execution.
Or if this is a reference to the symbolic closing of the gates closing every night at 9PM.
Either way, the message is clear about the feeling of containment from the outside and the unspoken fear and knowing of consequences if you speak the truth.
The iconic headshot of Che Guevara is typically the first thing that comes to mind when you ask people about Cuba.
Che’s face on the $3 bill is ironic, as it symbolizes something fake.
When you buy used bills at the souvenir market, the $3 bill is more expensive than the $100 bills.
The ghost of revolution past still lives on as a faint din of propaganda painted on walls and billboards throughout the country.
The most prominent event in everyone’s mind however, is likely the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The Cuban missile crisis was prevented by a more high tech ‘eye in the sky’ - the U2 spy plane.
President John F. Kennedy had secret imagery from a U2 spy plane presented to the UN in a surprise reveal, and arguably stopped the world from entering WW3.
One U2 was even shot down and ended up being the only casualty of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
There is no freedom of speech or freedom of the press in Cuba, only a single source of truth provided by the government.
Typical bookstand you find throughout Havana keeping the narrative of the glorious revolution alive.
Cubans don’t have the right to speak out against their government or protest.
If anyone does speak out, they’re quickly and ruthlessly disappeared.
2+2 = 5 is a theme from George Orwell’s 1984, where the only truth is what the party declared as truth - no matter how absurd.
Everyone mentioned free education and free healthcare with a sense of national pride, but then immediately talked about their plan to leave the island.
Cubans are subject to strict visa requirements in order to leave the island.
The clothes they wear and phones they use are typically gifted from family traveling back and forth from the United States.
2+2 = 5 is a theme from George Orwell’s 1984, where the only truth is what the party declared as truth - no matter how absurd.
Everyone I spoke to dreamed of an extra life, a life that was equal and just.
If they could just get off the island, their life would be turbo charged and their dreams would take off.
Dreams and imagination are what keep people alive in Cuba.
But don’t tell anyone, because you know who is watching.
Cubans can’t speak the truth or publicly acknowledge the ‘true’ reality, therefore their imagination is the only weapon to survive.
Until recently, Cuba operated on a dual currency system - one for tourists and the government (the CuC), and one for everyone else (Cuban peso).
The typical Cuban salary for everyone is around $35 USD per month.
Over the last few years, Cubans were allowed to file for a license to drive cabs and open small shops.
The resulting dynamic is that normal Cubans have more money, but less power.
However, if you’re a government paid Cuban, you have more power and can ruin a person's life by turning them into the government.
One of our cab drivers was pulled over and told to get out of the car.
After 25 minutes, when he came back in the car he said thank god you guys are Americans, meaning if it were anyone else - his license would have been revoked.
He was stopped for nothing - existing basically.
Like everything in life, there is always a spectrum that powers exist on.
One night there was a storm offshore and I went to the Malecon (a boardwalk on the ocean) to go film with my GoPro.
The waves were crashing up to 30 feet in the air, and the freshly installed LED lighting on the highway lit up the chaos perfectly.
I noticed a police car pass by with the lights on, then turn around and stopped.
I realized that the car stalled out because one of the officers got out to push the car.
I ran down and helped him push the car, and we eventually got the beast to kick over.
There is no AAA in Cuba, so both the police officers were super happy that I was there to help, but puzzled that some random gringo was out filming the ocean breaking over the Malecon.
When a cruise ship was at the port, you lost negotiation leverage because there was so much fresh money roaming around Havana.
However, when the ship left, all of a sudden you could negotiate a better rate for cabs and reservations.
The black market in Cuba is not centered around drugs or people; but car parts, clothing, and construction materials - all smuggled in via 50lb suitcases.
There is no Home Depot or modern hardware stores, so items like concrete, light switches, electrical tape, and light bulbs are a precious commodity.
Castro banned the import of foreign cars and car parts in 1959, so items like brake pads and shock absorbers are also a precious contraband.
We spoke to one person who helps renovate buildings in Cuba, and he said that he got arrested and detained one night because he had a few bags of concrete in the trunk of his car.
When he was released, the concrete magically disappeared.
Bodegas or corner stores are usually expensive and sparsely stocked with item that most Cubans can’t afford.
When a Cuban was taken to a typical American grocery store, he could hardly believe how much abundance was available.
Resources are so scarce in Cuba, that you have to use your imagination in order to survive.
Car parts are hard to come by in Cuba and typically don’t match with the proper make and model.
Therefore most repairs are hacks or random modifications made to fit with whatever is available.
Everything breaks in Cuba, so you have to learn how to adapt and fix it.
Cubans work hard not just to survive, but because they desire to have a better and more free quality of life.
Water is another scarce resource. Cubans save money to buy tanks to put on their roofs to collect rainwater.
The heart of Cuba is without a doubt its people.
When you have no money, love and relationships become the main currency.
One of the perks of having a ground level apartment is that you can have your own bodega (because there are no zoning laws) and sell small items to tourists.
People will sell cigarettes, beer, water, and cigars right outside their house to make some extra money.
Since the internet is limited, analog invitations are printed out and handed out in person - inviting people to come to a homemade speakeasy.
There is even analog advertising that is instantly recognizable by tourists.
Cubans love American brands, especially Apple products, because they represent hi-tech and future innovation.
Some entrepreneurs make money by inviting people to come eat at the restaurant they work for.
There is even analog advertising that is instantly recognizable by tourists.
I got to see my new friend’s home and left him with a 2TB hard drive and emergency contraception as a small token of appreciation.
It’s hard to understand how much we take fast phones and fast internet for granted.
Cuba is just beginning to roll out 3G speed cellular service.
In order to use a cell phone and internet, you have to buy scratch tickets with codes on them to get access.
Sometimes the scratch tickets didn’t scratch off properly, and you couldn’t end up reading the number.
Remember, Cubans were on a fixed state salary - so if they bought airtime that didn't scratch off properly, they were out of luck.
Interestingly, there was street art about a wifi pineapple - a wifi hacking tool for security professionals.
The real Cuban internet is known as El Paquete Semanal - a weekly thumb drive you can buy with new music, video, and books.
Thumb drives get copied and passed around. It’s a truly decentralized system.
Everyone else has to do whatever it takes to survive. Some collect spare water bottles, and other have to beg for milk and grocery money for their kids.
There were previously two currencies in Cuba, but in December 2020 - the Cuban government suspended the dual currency system and took a devaluation of 1 $USD = 24 CUP.
The embargo combined with the pandemic has cut the government’s biggest revenue stream (tourism) by half.
The net effect was massive inflation in the Cuban economy with no fresh capital entering the system.
On their last straw, the Cuban people did what they never did before - protest the government for freedom and outside support.
With revolutionary fervor in their blood, the Cuban took to the streets in Havana to call for a better way of life.
This was highly unprecedented because public assembly and voicing your opinion against the government is illegal in Cuba.
Armed with new higher quality phones, Cubans recorded and broadcast the protest live on the internet even with slower speeds.
The protests quickly spread like wildfire across the country.
Antonio Garcia Martinez (born to Cuban refugees) and author of Chaos Monkeys explained the situation best.
The government quickly cut internet access, thus making it hard to get the truth out.
There are only a few undersea internet connections that connect Cuba to the outside world.
Protestors were quickly rounded up at night, but this time people recorded and broadcast the video live.
Something that never happened before in Cuba.
Antifa uses black bloc tactics, where people dress up in black (making it difficult to identify individuals) and usually engage in violent and destructive activity.
Che is more of a hologram today. An illusion representing something from the distant past that current generations have no recollection over.
The revolution has shifted to ‘us’ versus ‘them’, i.e. the people vs the government.
The ghost of revolution past is rising from the grave, except it’s a new generation with a different vision and value system.
The ghost of revolution past is rising from the grave, except it’s a new generation with a different vision and value system.
The younger generation has no fear and nothing to lose.
For they are wild and free in their hearts.
Fingers crossed that their dreams of freedom may come true.