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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Eighty-two: A city portrait -- impressions of Havana, Cuba. > Echoes of Revolution, Havana, Cuba, 2012
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12-MAY-2012

Echoes of Revolution, Havana, Cuba, 2012

The lobby of a once exclusive apartment building has become a busy crossroads of a community. Here are worker carries a load of debris down a splintering marble staircase, anchored by a headless statue. A child walks past piles of groceries, awaiting delivery to a popular restaurant now operating on the building’s top floor. A fading mural, most likely in place for more than 50 years, features the visage of Camilo Cienfuegos, one of the heroes of the Cuban Revolution, superimposed on the national flag. Cienfuegos was one of Fidel Castro’s most important commanders during the guerrilla war against dictator Fulgencio Batista from 1957 to 1959. His plane vanished over the ocean in October, 1959, and no trace of it was ever found. This apartment building, built more than 100 years ago, was, like most Cuban real estate, turned into government property after the revolution. It features its own ballroom on the second floor, now used for drying laundry. A lengthy quote from a Castro speech is emblazoned on the wall in the upper left hand corner. This image offers a microcosmic look at what his revolution has produced.

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Phil Douglis30-May-2012 19:44
I don't think the Cubans would ever refer to their national flag as "Old Glory," Celia, but I will gladly forgive you for using such an American term here. I am delighted that you see this image as the concept of nationalism being subordinated to pragmatism and survival.
Cecilia Lim29-May-2012 23:28
I love the explanation of your picture-A "microcosmic look at what his revolution has produced". Old glory seems to be overtaken by pragmatism and survival.
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