Cubans at Home

As one of Spain’s richest colonies, Cuba boasted some of the grandest architecture in the Americas.

After the 1959 revolution, when many of the property owners fled the communist government, numerous families moved into the abandoned homes, which were then sub divided into several small dwellings.

Each family normally occupied a single room which they divided vertically and horizontally with new wooden ceilings being added to enable a bedroom to be made above the living area, with rickety wooden stairs for access.

Families that didn't leave after the revolution and owned homes in the cities continued to live in them and to mainly occupy the entire house, therefore having a much better standard of living than those sharing dwellings.

But most buildings are in a terrible condition and some have been condemned by the government as they are literally falling down. Despite this people continue to live in them as there is a severe housing shortage as well as terrible economic hardships which have been exacerbated by the pandemic and new economic policies.

Economic sanctions and poverty have prevented people from modernising their homes or buying new furniture and so many are a time warp from another era.

This project aims to show Cubans in their homes, so providing a picture of how they live in at a time of huge economic challenges.