A national identity through poster art
“A revolution is not a bed of roses. A revolution is a struggle between the future and the past.” So said Fidel Castro in 1959, just as the Cuban leader took hold of the reins of power in the country and ushered in a new era of Communism.
The Cuban Revolution didn’t just put the country between the future and the past. It also put it between the two pervading global ideologies of the time: the western, American-centred capitalist machine, and the Soviet Union’s brand of socialism.
Situated at this dynamic crossroads, art – in particular, poster art – played an important role in defining Cuba’s new place in the world, as well as reinforcing its distinctive national identity.
Many Cuban artists were actively encouraged in their artistic pursuits – and many were sponsored by the State-run Instituto Cubano del Arte y la Industria Cinematográfica.
Thanks to this, some of the best poster art of the 20th Century has come from this small Caribbean island.
Here are 12 famous cuban posters which give an insight into Cuba in the 20th Century:
Besos Robados – René Azcuy 1970
Cuban art had flourished before the 1959 revolution, in part because the country was a cultural melting pot, with African, South American, European, and North American influences helping to make it an artist hub.
But post-1959, there was a certain tension between the needs of artists and the needs of the newly founded Communist State.
State-sponsored art was an important part of helping Communist Cuba to gain legitimacy, and historians have noted that many of the more liberal artists either fled the country after the Revolution, worked as an arm of the State’s art-propaganda machine, or consciously censored their work so as not to offend the State.
However, René Azcuy’s magnificent Besos Robados poster shows that the idea of ‘mass censorship’ is a reductive one when it comes to Cuban poster art.
In fact, Fidel Castro was open-minded when it came to art, and he stressed its importance by facilitating the State-run Instituto Cubano del Arte y la Industria Cinematográfica. (He also stressed the importance of film by creating the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC).
Created as a film poster for François Truffaut’s French film Baisers Volés (Stolen Kisses), Azcuy’s poster is sensual, enticing, and – perhaps most importantly – unashamedly inspired by the Western-led pop art movement.
This poster was one of many that showed how art in Cuba flourished and pushed boundaries, even as the State maintained an iron grip on other parts of society after the Revolution.
Besos Robados – René Azcuy
Libertad para Angela Davis – Félix Beltran
Libertad para Angela Davis – Félix Beltran 1971
The revolutionary thinker and writer Angela Davis was imprisoned in California from 1970 to 1972 for her connection to a courtroom murder. During this time, she became a strong international symbol for left-wing revolutionaries internationally.
While she was imprisoned, Cuban artist Félix Beltran created this instantly iconic work of art in her honour. The rich colours, stern gaze, and notable afro all helped this become one of the many evocative symbols of protest art created by Cuban artists.
Hasta la victoria siempre – Ñiko Antonio Pérez González 1968
If the Revolution was going to succeed long-term in Cuba, it needed to have emotive symbols that the population could grasp visually.
The image of Che Guevara has taken on an almost Christ-like significance for revolutionaries, thanks in no small part to artists like Ñiko Antonio Pérez González. Look at the deepset red tones in this image, and how they contrast with the black, chiselling out Guevara’s image six times on the poster.
With this image, the recently executed Che Guevara was on his way to being both myth and a perpetual martyr.
Hasta la victoria siempre – Ñiko Antonio Pérez González
Guatemala – Olivio Martinez
Guatemala – Olivio Martinez 1968
Many Cuban artists, like Cuban politicians, saw themselves within the context of broader international revolutionary movements.
This might explain Olivio Martinez’s various ‘solidarity’ posters. In this imagery, created in solidarity with the leftist revolutionaries trying to secure power in Guatemala, Martinez combines ancient Mayan iconography with the modern-day weapon of choice – the Armalite.
Abelardo Estorino – Raúl Martínez 1958
One of the most touching and memorable images to come from 20th Century Cuba, this poster sees influential artist Raúl Martínez depicting his life partner, the famed director Abelardo Estorino.
Despite facing marginalisation due to being in a homosexual relationship, both of these artists excelled in their fields – and were buoyant in doing so.
Look at the strongly visual character of this poster, with Estorino appearing caught up in his own joy.
Abelardo Estorino – Raúl Martínez
4ta muestra de cine y video de la A.H.S – Eduardo Marín, Vladimir Llaguno
4ta muestra de cine y video de la A.H.S – Eduardo Marín, Vladimir Llaguno 1990
If the graphic artist and poster designer Vladimir Llaguno Eduardo Marín is to teach us anything, it’s that there was still room for creativity and playfulness in the geopolitically isolated Cuba of the post-Soviet 1990s.
With this poster, he offers a tongue-in-cheek version of Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Can art piece, in order to promote a film exhibition.
Che – Olivio Martinez 1973
Alongside the aforementioned Hasta la victoria siempre poster, Martinez’s Che poster stands as one of the most iconic depicts of the revolutionary hero.
As with most Cuban propaganda poster art, its rich colours and deep contrasts make it ready-made to be displayed at protests or plastered onto walls.
But Martinez also takes a different tack when compared with Pérez González. Look at the emotion in Che’s eyes, and the enigmatic half-smile. Six years after the hero’s death, this poster portrays him nostalgically, focusing on him more as a tragically missed martyr, rather than a stony military icon.
Che – Olivio Martinez
Cinemateca de Cuba programación – Eduardo Muñoz Bachs
Cinemateca de Cuba programación – Eduardo Muñoz Bachs 1970
Like many preeminent Cuban artists, Bachs was well-versed in artistic ideas such as abstract art, Art Nouveau, and pop art. He brought these to posters like Cinemateca de Cuba programación, which challenged the viewer as much as they drew them in.
And, like other famous Cuban artists, his ideas worked so well visually thanks to the silkscreen printing process, which ensured his bold, deep colours would pop.
Ho Chi Minh – René Mederos 1969
Although many Western politicians and prominent figures wouldn’t publicly admit it, they longed for the kind of ‘cult of personality’ status that was bestowed on communist figures and solidified through elements like effective poster art.
Mederos’ Ho Chi Minh poster shared some similarities with previous depictions of Che Guevara. He offers a mild-mannered depiction of the communist Vietnamese leader – a man of the people – against the backdrop of the Vietnam flag.
The bright colours and interesting contours are typical of Mederos’ work. These stylistic choices can also be found in Mederos’ other posters depicting Vietnamese society, which he created while visiting the country and witnessing the Vietnam War first-hand.
Ho Chi Minh – René Mederos
Hombres de mal tiempo – Umberto Peña
Hombres de mal tiempo – Umberto Peña 1969
With this poster, Umberto Peña offers an interesting depiction of the Cuban national flag, alongside archetypal imagery of Cuban men in Cuban hats.
The poster was created for a short film centred on the Battle of Mal Tiempo – a key battle in securing Cuba’s independence from Colonial Spain.
Cine móvil ICAIC – Eduardo Muñoz Bachs 1969
As has already been made clear, film was an important tool used by artists and propagandists in Revolutionary Cuba, and – under the right artist – film posters became a vehicle for packaging together everything from a film’s themes, to wider political ideas, to reflections on contemporary art movements.
Bachs’ poster is a delightfully quirky take on the iconic film image of Charlie Chaplin riding a penny farthing bicycle. It’s original, contemporary, and minimal in its use of colour, yet maximal in its ideas and evocativeness.
Cine móvil ICAIC – Eduardo Muñoz Bachs
Jornada ideologica Ché y Camillo – Julio Eloy Mesa
Jornada ideologica Ché y Camillo – Julio Eloy Mesa 1972
Jornada ideologica Ché y Camillo was a propaganda film which told the stories of two revolutionary heroes, Camilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán and Che Guevara.
In Mesa’s poster, psychedelia (used by other Cuban artists to great effect) is heavily employed. With this artistic form, Mesa takes the Cuban star – which represents independence and freedom – to colourful new places.
A poster revolution in every sense
Even at a time of political upheaval and uncertainty, Revolutionary Cuba made a point of supporting its artists.
The results of this were fascinating – and revealed interesting contradictions. While poster art flourished and originality was encouraged, most of the prominent art of this era could fall under the wide umbrella of State propaganda.
Whether or not that matters is for the historians to deliberate over. For art lovers, these posters remain both beautiful and important.
