I completed this reflection as part of an assignment for our CGST305 Capstone Seminar. Students were instructed to select an image from their study abroad experience, and write a reflection analyzing its context. The images were displayed around the classroom, first without the written reflections, and then with that context. We were expected to write down our impressions of our classmates’ images before and after reading their analysis. This is my reflection on the image I chose for the activity. To see my reflection on classmates’ images and reflections, click here: (https://henryleightonglobalengagement.wescreates.wesleyan.edu/wp-admin/post.php?post=313&action=edit).

This billboard features a quote from the Cuban president who succeeded Raúl Castro (pictured left), Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermúdez (pictured right). The translation reads: Of course we depend on our producers … of course we depend on the cooperative sector and our farmers. Interestingly, although this billboard primarily features farmers, it is located in Havana, Cuba’s metropolitan capital. In this way, while the advertisement might appear to be catering towards farmers and thanking them for their contribution, they are unlikely to see the billboard as they live in primarily rural areas. Rather, the message might be interpreted as a reminder to residents of Havana of the importance of rural Cubans and the agricultural sector. For some Cubans, such as my host mom, the billboard may remind them of their rural roots and inspire them to be thankful for the privileges they enjoy in the city. People in Havana are more likely to be wealthy, especially in the neighborhood of Vedado where this billboard is featured. However, it is positioned along a main thoroughfare, so many people are likely to take note of its message. City residents are more likely to be white and have access to remittances from abroad, which are critical due to the inflation that has rendered the Cuban peso a weak currency. Cuba is in an age of increasing socioeconomic inequality because of the growth of the private sector, where one’s participation often requires startup capital from relatives abroad. As a result, the billboard is likely intended to remind Cubans of their responsibility to their country and to the socialist values of the revolution despite their privileged status. The allusion to the transition between the Castros and Diaz-Canel Bermúdez seems an attempt to assert that little has changed in terms of the dedication of the Cuban government to the values of the revolution, which had a strong commitment to uplifting the lives of rural Cubans. 

However, most Cubans in Havana probably don’t see themselves as depending on the island’s farmers. There are many food shortages, and this has been remedied by an informal market of imported goods by the private sector. The agricultural industry has limited access to the irrigation technology of modern farming because of the United States’ economic sanctions, and is ill-equipped to feed the nation. Cuban agriculture had historically revolved around sugar; first as a Spanish colony and then as an ally of the Soviet Union. The island would supply the Soviets with sugar in exchange for a variety of other commodities, including foodstuffs. When the Soviet bloc suddenly fell, the infrastructure was not in place for the island to be self-sufficient. From this perspective, the billboard’s message appears tone-deaf, and Havana residents could easily dismiss its implications on this basis. As a result, the billboard might be directed at visitors like me, foreigners who might not have the context of Cuba’s economy that would allow them to complicate this apparent ‘dependence’ on the agricultural sector. All in all, the advertisement seems much more effective in this context as propaganda, especially since it is within walking distance of a variety of hotels.