MADE IN CUBA

Contents

06.

Introduction

80. Luis

Furniture Designer

178. Irolán

Visual Artist

Profiles

90. Yuyú

08. Damian

Visual Artist

Maydanis & Rafael

52.

56.

Alfredo & Annabelle

114. Kadir

Visual Artist

36. Robin

42.

96.

110. Victor

Underwater Photographer

& Videographer

26.

El Negro Farmer

Creative Director & Magazine Publisher

Recycled Paper Maker & Workshop Owner

Farmers

20. Nayvis

Bicycle Shop Owner

138. Lila

Clothing & Accessory Designer

Mattress Repair Specialists

144. Salgado

Ana Livia

Mechanic & Harley-Davidson Specialist

Ángel & Nilse

154. Nelson

Graphic Designer

Jewelry Designer

Lighting Designers

162. Pancho

Billiards Academy

Owner & Teacher

66. Alfredo Contractor 74. Leisi Seamstress

170. Mayelín

Jewelry Designer

Made in Cuba

Essays

188. May-Ling

Animal Rescue Specialist

127.

How to be an Independent Writer and Not Die Trying

194. Estévez

Bookmaker & Publisher

130.

On Happiness

200. Adrián Musician

132.

Surviving & Thriving, Cuban-Style

206. Tomás

134.

Galleria Continua Goes to Cuba

Antique Collector & Restoration Specialist

212.

Felicia & Fidel

Leonardo Padura

Daymé Arocena Conner Gorry

Lorenzo Fiaschi

136.

Marcel Lueiro

222. Yusnier

Visual Artist

254.

Thanks

228. Yuni

256.

Colophon

Restaurateur & Nutritionist

234. Josuhe

Video Game Designer 240. José

A DIY Renaissance

Yogurt Makers

Novelty Collector & Restoration Specialist

246. Orestes Winemaker

Contents

06.

Introduction

80. Luis

Furniture Designer

178. Irolán

Visual Artist

Profiles

90. Yuyú

08. Damian

Visual Artist

Maydanis & Rafael

52.

56.

Alfredo & Annabelle

114. Kadir

Visual Artist

36. Robin

42.

96.

110. Victor

Underwater Photographer

& Videographer

26.

El Negro Farmer

Creative Director & Magazine Publisher

Recycled Paper Maker & Workshop Owner

Farmers

20. Nayvis

Bicycle Shop Owner

138. Lila

Clothing & Accessory Designer

Mattress Repair Specialists

144. Salgado

Ana Livia

Mechanic & Harley-Davidson Specialist

Ángel & Nilse

154. Nelson

Graphic Designer

Jewelry Designer

Lighting Designers

162. Pancho

Billiards Academy

Owner & Teacher

66. Alfredo Contractor 74. Leisi Seamstress

170. Mayelín

Jewelry Designer

Made in Cuba

Essays

188. May-Ling

Animal Rescue Specialist

127.

How to be an Independent Writer and Not Die Trying

194. Estévez

Bookmaker & Publisher

130.

On Happiness

200. Adrián Musician

132.

Surviving & Thriving, Cuban-Style

206. Tomás

134.

Galleria Continua Goes to Cuba

Antique Collector & Restoration Specialist

212.

Felicia & Fidel

Leonardo Padura

Daymé Arocena Conner Gorry

Lorenzo Fiaschi

136.

Marcel Lueiro

222. Yusnier

Visual Artist

254.

Thanks

228. Yuni

256.

Colophon

Restaurateur & Nutritionist

234. Josuhe

Video Game Designer 240. José

A DIY Renaissance

Yogurt Makers

Novelty Collector & Restoration Specialist

246. Orestes Winemaker

14

15

Damian

Visual Arts

14

15

Damian

Visual Arts

40

41

40

41

Alfredo

Contractor

Alfredo stands in an apartment—soon to be a multiroom casa particular (a privately owned bed and breakfast)—surrounded by dust and debris. The interior has been gutted, save for an original marble column in the living room. Instead of the protective film that usually covers floors during construction, flattened cardboard boxes carpet the space from wall to wall; Alfredo has driven around the city in his maroon Lada collecting old boxes from dumpsters for this very purpose.

Materials are strewn about and workers buzz around the building tending to various jobs. “This,” Alfredo says confidently, “will be finished in one month.”

The contractor is frequently moving between various building sites, on the never-ending search for materials or taking care of his friends and family. He is not an easy man to get a hold of. Yet, both his clients and his employees praise his work; he gets things done.

For much of his youth and early adulthood, life was about going through the motions. In the mid-2000s, Alfredo studied electrical engineering at university before completing his obligatory year of military service and finally settling into a job with a government-run electric company.

It wasn’t until he was ready to start a family, which soon included an infant daughter, that he decided to take things into his own hands. His limited salary with the government wasn’t going to be sufficient to care for his growing nucleus. “That’s when I used my education in a different way and started making electric installations at various construction jobs,” he recalls.

His work with those small installations rapidly grew and morphed into something bigger. “I couldn’t believe it, but I was contracted to oversee the build of a house,” he remembers. “I had to subcontract everything—the carpenters, the plumbers. And I was fighting with everyone because I didn’t ask for nearly enough money,” he says, laughing at his misfortune in typical Cuban fashion. It was a struggle, but he stuck to his mantra (and that of many others on the island): “I had to adapt.” →

66

67

Made in Cuba

Alfredo

Contractor

Alfredo stands in an apartment—soon to be a multiroom casa particular (a privately owned bed and breakfast)—surrounded by dust and debris. The interior has been gutted, save for an original marble column in the living room. Instead of the protective film that usually covers floors during construction, flattened cardboard boxes carpet the space from wall to wall; Alfredo has driven around the city in his maroon Lada collecting old boxes from dumpsters for this very purpose.

Materials are strewn about and workers buzz around the building tending to various jobs. “This,” Alfredo says confidently, “will be finished in one month.”

The contractor is frequently moving between various building sites, on the never-ending search for materials or taking care of his friends and family. He is not an easy man to get a hold of. Yet, both his clients and his employees praise his work; he gets things done.

For much of his youth and early adulthood, life was about going through the motions. In the mid-2000s, Alfredo studied electrical engineering at university before completing his obligatory year of military service and finally settling into a job with a government-run electric company.

It wasn’t until he was ready to start a family, which soon included an infant daughter, that he decided to take things into his own hands. His limited salary with the government wasn’t going to be sufficient to care for his growing nucleus. “That’s when I used my education in a different way and started making electric installations at various construction jobs,” he recalls.

His work with those small installations rapidly grew and morphed into something bigger. “I couldn’t believe it, but I was contracted to oversee the build of a house,” he remembers. “I had to subcontract everything—the carpenters, the plumbers. And I was fighting with everyone because I didn’t ask for nearly enough money,” he says, laughing at his misfortune in typical Cuban fashion. It was a struggle, but he stuck to his mantra (and that of many others on the island): “I had to adapt.” →

66

67

Made in Cuba

152

153

152

153

210

In my grandparent’s day, there were less machines and more knowledge. Now, there is more machinery, but less knowledge. — [Tomás]

Tomás

Antique Collector & Restoration Specialist

211

210

In my grandparent’s day, there were less machines and more knowledge. Now, there is more machinery, but less knowledge. — [Tomás]

Tomás

Antique Collector & Restoration Specialist

211