Holguin/In the cast Alex Urquiola, in the city of Holguin, the neighbors woke up this weekend with a word painted in an intense blue wall: “Libertat.” The graffiti, written with unequal and hurried letters, appeared in the section between the Guarapera of the Dalama bar and the old service known as La Curve, a constant transit area where thousands of people spend every day.
The poster draws attention not only because of the direct message that it contains, but because of the way it was written, with a final “t” that betrays a spelling error but that, for many residents, reflects the urgency and spontaneity with which it was embodied. “The one who did it safely wrote it as it rang in his mind,” said a neighbor who stopped in front of the improvised mural. “You cannot write well a word that is never used,” added another place with an ironic smile that summed up the generalized frustration by the situation on the island.
“You cannot write well a word that is never used”
The graffiti is the last episode of a chain of public expressions of disagreement that have become more frequent in Holguín – and throughout Cuba – in recent years. And that have increased in recent months.
In mid -June, the authorities in Holguín worked early to erase some 20 anti -government graffiti In the tapia of the Mayabe cemetery, raspening even with machetes while agents of the Ministry of Interior, supported by several cars and motorcycles, controlled the area and monitored anyone who approached. A tricycle driver reported that he could not even get his phone for fear of being arrested, while a cistern truck loaded with Cal expected to paint the extensive wall and cover the remains of the messages as quickly as possible.
In mid -June 20 anti -government graffiti appeared in the tapia of the Mayabe cemetery
In the cast Lenin, also in Holguín, It appeared in May A graffiti with the phrase “below communism” painted on one of the buildings. The authorities reacted quickly trying to cover it with reddish paint, but the linked color left the message visible, creating a palpable irony. The censorship act ended up reinforcing the phrase.
The neighborhood, of Soviet functionalist architecture, contrasts with the poor houses and serves as a symbolic scenario of the challenge to the system. In addition, the regime activated a repression protocol: calligraphy experts, state security agents and surveillance committees, under legal figures that criminalize these types of expressions such as “enemy propaganda”, with sentences of up to 15 years.
In May, the phrase “Below communism” was painted on one of the buildings of the cast Lenin
The head of the United States Mission in Cuba, Mike Hammer, visiting that city, He came to portray himself in front of the posterhighlighting that Cubans should be able to express themselves without fear of reprisals.
In the case of this new graffiti in Alex Urquiola, however, the word “Libertat” remained visible all weekend, becoming the subject of conversation for passers -by and drivers who were traveling through the place. Some even speculate that the inaction of the authorities to eliminate the message could respond to the experts have run out of resources to analyze the frequent protest painted. A much more suspicious holguinera commented with sarcasm: “Maybe there is no paint.”
