Wall graffiti in Cuba depict anguish and hope amid coronavirus pandemic

Artists have taken to the walls in Ciudad Corona (translates Corona Town) in Cuba in southern Havana to illustrate the coronavirus art expressing emotions like gloom, anguish, and hope about the global COVID-19 pandemic. Despite stern surveillance in the communist city, and with limited ease to the restrictions, cityscape artist Yulier Rodriguez has been able to articulate a collection of murals on Cuba’s city wall, his recent popular artwork being the graffiti for “courage”. 

Portraying the dark themed hunched figure with a mask who drags behind it an entangled mass of stricken faces and lanky limbs as butterflies flutter out of the mouth of the body laid at rest, the ‘Coraje’ graffiti is visible from the backyard of his friend’s home. Not only he, but many urban artists have taken to Cuba’s public spaces or private due to the fear of the Communist authorities for creative expression about the coronavirus crisis. Several artistic pieces can be seen drawn on the walls on Cuba’s many abandoned or dilapidated buildings that made for the perfect canvas for these cityscape artists.  

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Artistic representation of the global health crisis

Artists are compelled to express the energy of the moment, the way this illness drags along everyone in its path, be they rich or poor, military or civil, Rodriguez, known by name Mr. Myl, was quoted as saying, according to a news agency report. Further, he added, in Cuba, one needed to live with courage all the time, pointing out to his upbeat mural in central Havana, that has “Courage” letters inscribed in bold above a multi-storey's black-and-white mural.  

Coming forward with an artistic representation of the global health crisis on the streets, the urban graffiti makers in Cojimar, a fishing village east of Havana, that inspired Ernest Hemingway’s novel, “The Old Man and the Sea,” painted murals on ruins by the sea. Several such artworks were dedicated to the health care and frontline workers for their tireless battle against the COVID-19. While the Cuban’s communist authorities have toughened measures enclosing spaces to the public in a bid to stem the pandemic, the art has failed to stow away from plain sight. 

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(Image Credit: Instagram/ Mr.Myl)