Art on the Island of Loss and Desire


One day last spring, driving on Avenida de Allende, I anticipated seeing the large metal letters across the facade of the Ministry of Light Industry: "Proletarios de Todos los Paises, Unios!". But it was not there. No one knew whether it was removed for repair or permanently. It seemed ominous: the call to resistance and solidarity, the most quoted line from the works of Karl Marx, was no longer blazoned across this prominent façade. Could it have been removed to avoid offense to tourists from capitalist countries? No one would say whether this was the case or not.

The perception that Cuba is about to open its mystery, behind the United States’ embargo dispelled, is one that, like other events in Cuba’s history, is impelled in part by what is actually happening and policy changes, and at least as much by media manipulation. Contemporary media has focused on the decrepitude of the infrastructure, the image of Fidel, and the poignancy of the situation of the Cuban people. The press captures beautiful mulatas in skimpy Spandex foregrounded before the sea and decaying buildings of the Malécon. Photo opportunities abound…




Marilyn A. Zeitlin