Voices from the Wall: Young artists paint what is not said
Photo Feature by Idania Cardenas
HAVANA TIMES – On Mexico or Cristina Avenue in Havana, Cuba—where routine intertwines with decay—a group of young artists transform concrete into a cry. With brushes and spray cans in hand, they confront a gray wall that, like many others in the city, has borne years of silence and neglect. On the street, piles of garbage form part of the usual landscape, silent witnesses to a reality that builds up and is ignored.
One of the artists boldly draws an equation: 2+2=5. It’s not a math error—it’s a political statement. “We all know 2+2 is 4,” he says without stopping his painting, “but they tell us it’s 5, and we have to nod along.” It’s a direct, courageous critique of the power that imposes truths, of the official discourse that shapes our perception of what’s real.
Beyond the wall, life goes on. People come and go, oblivious or perhaps accustomed to these acts of expression. In one of the images, a man pushes a wheelbarrow carrying an old television set; he’s taking it to be repaired, trying to extend its life—like someone refusing to give up. That scene becomes a metaphor for daily life on the island: surviving, adapting, resisting.
This photo essay doesn’t seek answers. It merely leaves questions hanging in the thick midday air of Havana.What do we see when we look? What do we accept without question? And how many more walls are left to paint?
Creative expression is important, of course – it is used as an outlet for pent-up feelings and social commentary. Often graffiti is quite well done, and impressive. But you know what would be more impressive? If those “young artists” (they don’t look so young to me), would instead, pick-up the garbage right at their feet and maybe clean-up their environments a little bit. Maybe use some of the money they spent on the extensive tattoos and find ways to keep the streets clean and communities functioning.
Cubans need to start doing things for themselves instead of living in filth and crying about it. There once was a man who did precisely that…… and his name was Fidel. Was he better and more capable than every Cuban since? I think not, and today’s problems were caused by him. So, man-up, get organized, and do something, damn it!