Cuba
JULY 26 - DAY OF WORLD SOLIDARITY WITH THE CUBAN REVOLUTION, 1975
Between the 1960s and 1990s, more than fifty designers worked at OSPAAAL. Based in Cuba, they made magazines and posters that were sent around the world. Their aim was to promote radical political ideas. Many of their posters celebrate socialist revolutions and liberation movements from the Global South. This design promotes 26 July as a day of solidarity with the Cuban Revolution. The revolutionary 26th of July Movement led by Fidel Castro took power in Cuba in 1959.
July 26 - Day of Solidarity with the Cuban Revolution, 1969
Between the 1960s and 1990s, more than fifty designers worked at OSPAAAL. Based in Cuba, they made magazines and posters that were sent around the world. Their aim was to promote radical political ideas. Many of their posters celebrate socialist revolutions and liberation movements from the Global South. This design promotes 26 July as a day of solidarity with the Cuban Revolution. The revolutionary 26th of July Movement led by Fidel Castro took power in Cuba in 1959.
CUBA - July 26 - 1968, 1968
Between the 1960s and 1990s, more than fifty designers worked at OSPAAAL. Based in Cuba, they made magazines and posters that were sent around the world. Their aim was to promote radical political ideas. Many of their posters celebrate socialist revolutions and liberation movements from the Global South. From the 1960s, painter Raúl Martinez started working as a graphic designer, drawn to the social impact of posters and magazines. He was known for his portraits of well-known revolutionary icons, but to commemorate the 26th of July Movement he portrayed an anonymous Cuban patriot.
DAY OF THE WORLD SOLIDARITY WITH THE CUBAN REVOLUTION (July 26), 1970
Between the 1960s and 1990s, more than fifty designers worked at OSPAAAL. Based in Cuba, they made magazines and posters that were sent around the world. Their aim was to promote radical political ideas. Many of their posters celebrate socialist revolutions and liberation movements from the Global South. This design promotes 26 July as a day of solidarity with the Cuban Revolution. The revolutionary 26th of July Movement led by Fidel Castro took power in Cuba in 1959.
WORLD SOLIDARITY WITH THE CUBAN REVOLUTION, 1980
Between the 1960s and 1990s, more than fifty designers worked at OSPAAAL. Based in Cuba, they made magazines and posters that were sent around the world. Their aim was to promote radical political ideas. Many of their posters celebrate socialist revolutions and liberation movements from the Global South. Víctor Manuel Navarrete’s design uses an image of ‘Uncle Sam’ from a 1917 US army recruitment poster. In the U.S.A., Uncle Sam was a widely used character representing the government and national pride. OSPAAAL’s designers often distorted images of Uncle Sam to criticise or mock the U.S.A.
World Solidarity With CUBA, 1980
Between the 1960s and 1990s, more than fifty designers worked at OSPAAAL (the Organisation of Solidarity with the People of Africa, Asia and Latin America). Based in Cuba, they made magazines and posters that were sent around the world. Their aim was to promote radical political ideas. Many of their posters celebrate socialist revolutions and liberation movements from the Global South. They also criticised the foreign policy of the U.S.A. In this design, the Cuban flag represents the Cuban revolution repelling the U.S. military, represented by the hand of fictional character Uncle Sam.
Content warning: weaponry
NO TO THE GUANTANAMO NAVAL BASE!, 1993
Between the 1960s and 1990s, more than fifty designers worked at OSPAAAL. Based in Cuba, they made magazines and posters that were sent around the world. Their aim was to promote radical political ideas. Many of their posters celebrate socialist revolutions and liberation movements from the Global South. In this design, Gladys Acosta Ávila uses an eagle to represent the U.S.A. Its talons are hovering over the south of Cuba where the U.S. military’s Guantanamo Bay Naval Base was established in 1903.
GIRON - 30th ANNIVERSARY - SOCIALISM OR DEATH, 1969
Between the 1960s and 1990s, more than fifty designers worked at OSPAAAL. Based in Cuba, they made magazines and posters that were sent around the world. Their aim was to promote radical political ideas. Many of their posters celebrate socialist revolutions and liberation movements from the Global South. In 1961, a military group sponsored by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency invaded Cuba in an attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro. Eladio Rivadulla Pérez used a press photograph of Castro jumping from a tank for his commemorative poster design.
Content warning: weaponry
TRICONTINENTAL CONFERENCE - 3rd ANNIVERSARY, 1969
Between the 1960s and 1990s, more than fifty designers worked at OSPAAAL (the Organisation of Solidarity with the People of Africa, Asia and Latin America). Based in Cuba, they made magazines and posters that were sent around the world. Their aim was to promote radical political ideas. Many of their posters celebrate socialist revolutions and liberation movements from the Global South. OSPAAAL was established after the Tricontinental conference held in Havana in 1966. Representatives from 82 governments and national liberation movements discussed their positions on politics, economics, development and culture. Fidel Castro summarised their unifying aim as “the struggle against colonialism, racism and imperialism.” This commemorative poster uses three characters to represent Africa, Asia and Latin America as united by a common purpose.
Content warning: weaponry
