'No Resistance without Future': An Essay Explores Art and Life in Cuba

As Cuba faces a period marked by shortages, blackouts, and a growing exodus, a crucial reflection emerges on the meaning of art in such a context. The essay "No hay resistencia sin futuro. Sobre arte y vida en Cuba" ("No Resistance without Future: On Art and Life in Cuba"), published on the Chilean platform Artishock, offers a deep dive into the works of contemporary Cuban artists to understand how precarity affects creation.

The author, Laritza Suárez del Villar Suárez, frames her analysis around the notion of "paresthesia," a medical concept describing numbness. She uses it as a metaphor for the state of the body and subjectivity under prolonged waiting and exhaustion. According to her, this form of anesthesia reduces the capacity to act, imagine, and transform—a reality that resonates with the daily challenges of Cuban artists.

The essay goes beyond a pessimistic observation. By exploring the link between resistance and future, it suggests that artistic creation remains a space for negotiating uncertainty. The works selected by the author become testimonies to this silent struggle, where art serves both as a refuge and as a means to project oneself into the future.

This publication contributes to a broader debate on the role of culture in societies in crisis. By giving voice to artists who choose to stay, the essay offers a counterpoint to dominant narratives of exile while acknowledging the reality of emigration. It illustrates how the Cuban art scene, despite obstacles, continues to produce works of great critical force.

Suárez del Villar Suárez's essay is available on the Artishock website, a contemporary art magazine based in Santiago, Chile. It may spark discussions in academic and artistic circles, both in Cuba and internationally, about strategies of cultural survival in times of prolonged crisis.

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Written by the ADM desk based on Artishock. Read the original article for the full story.