Graffiti on walls around Havana telling Cubans “you need to be happy” has encouraged introspection and inspiration in a country where censorship has forced many street artists to emigrate or abandon their work.
The simple but striking message that began appearing more than a year ago is the creation of “Mr. Sad,” a 27-year-old sociologist who, under the cover of anonymity, pushes the limits of rebellion on the communist-run island.
“My intention is just to create a mirror so that people have the opportunity to take a moment to see what’s inside them,” he said.
Photo: AFP
The artist said he was inspired by the tradition of visual propaganda that Cuba has cultivated in the decades since the revolution that brought the late Cuban president Fidel Castro to power in 1959.
Revolutionary slogans that have adorned public space on the island of 10 million inhabitants for years, such as “Homeland or death, we will win,” have gradually lost their connection with the Cuban identity, he said.
In the 1960s, “Cuba became the standard bearer of counterculture,” he said in front of his graffiti inside the ruins of what was once an elegant apartment block with a sea view.
“Society has evolved. It no longer identifies with what happens in public spaces,” he said.
He decided to turn his message into an “order but a kind one,” because he believes Cubans are so used to orders “that only an order can attract attention.”
The phrase has been spray-painted or scribbled in pen on walls, road signs and disused shop windows, as well appearing on stickers and T-shirts.
DESPITE THE PROBLEMS
Graffiti emerged in Cuba in the early 2000s as a response to the needs of a changing society, Mr. Sad said.
However, some of its creators have faced hostility and surveillance from the authorities, because graffiti is above all a form of rebellion, he added.
One artist who signs his graffiti featuring masked characters observing society from street walls “2+2=5” has gone into exile.
Another, Yulier P., remains on the island, but no longer paints.
Both were previously arrested and said they were forced to paint over their murals, although some are still visible in the capital.
Even so, Mr. Sad prefers to work during the day, choosing busy places such as bus stations.
He said people had told him on social media that his words helped them to make important decisions, including fleeing domestic violence, addressing gender identity issues or even deciding against suicide.
Independent filmmakers Lilian Moncada, 22, and Erika Santana, 23, were also inspired by the slogan, which they used for the name of their short film.
Santana said she plays the role of a woman “fighting her own demons” who needed to hear Mr. Sad’s message, who has the phrase tattooed on her forearm.
Cubans “have the right to be happy, to look inward and move forward, despite the problems” shaking the island, which is mired in its worst economic crisis in three decades, Moncada said.
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly