Se vende . Home-making and betrayal of the future in Eastern Cuba

Source abstract

This photo-essay explores the migration crisis that has hit Cuba in recent years, with a focus on street-front material traces such as real estate sale signs testifying to the material cultural belongings left behind by people leaving or attempting to leave the country. The authors collected photographs in Santiago de Cuba from 2023 to 2025. We collaborated to develop collage visuals to show at a glance the quantity of houses for sale and the creativity that emerged in a period of extreme scarcity. Yet, we argue that the Cuban ingenio, the ingenuity and creativity often referred to as a resource to navigate daily difficulties, is fading away like the surface of a house-for-sale sign exposed to daylight. Instead, a sense of betrayal in the revolutionary project—for which home-making, home ownership, and housing were a materialization of the socialist values—is leading to a lack of hope in a future on the island. The images aim to visually portray the story of a forced diasporic movement and the betrayal of a promise of belonging deeply rooted in the Cuban Revolution. Therefore, we explore what the street signs tell about this story. How are they representative of a society at loss of its own sense of belonging and home-making? Through visual methods, we aim to record and recount how material culture testifies to socio-political issues such as forced migration, diaspora, and belonging.