1957

I imagine the year to be 1957 again, when Havana was the world’s fourth most expensive city. According to the International Labour Organization, the average industrial salary in Cuba became the world’s eighth-highest in 1958, and the average agricultural wage was higher than in developed nations like Denmark, West Germany, Belgium or France. Cuba also had Latin America’s highest per capita consumption of meat, vegetables, cereals, automobiles, telephones and radios during this period. In 2019, many vintage buildings still remain in Havana and many of my friends still play and live in such buildings. The buildings may be old and deteriorated, blemished by scars on their walls, with no signs of recent maintenance. Today, as the Castro era wanes, Cuba’s youth have their doubts, dreams and their stories…The country is still a far cry from its heyday, but It is now time to create new memories and new histories while revisiting and reevaluating old ones… 1957 is a collection of portraits and stories of my friends in Havana…