A Cuban filmmaker returns home to see his family during the island nation’s worst economic crisis in decades

Filmmaker Armando Guerra, 47, who lives in Valencia, Spain, often sends supplies and money to his parents back home in Camaguey, in central Cuba.

He also tries to do whatever he can to help when he visits them. In the past, he saw them yearly. That stopped when the COVID-19 pandemic set in. But finally, he was able to see them again last month. In preparation for his trip, he went to the grocery store, like usual, to load up on essentials to bring back for them.

“We Cubans get a list from our family every time we visit the island,” he said. “‘Hey, we need a little radio for your grandfather or just notebooks.’ This time, however, my mom and my dad, the only thing they wanted was food. Just normal food.”

So, Guerra filled two extra suitcases with powdered milk, tuna cans, sausages, olive oil, some small medical kits, toilet paper and hygiene items. Once in Havana, he spent $12, or almost 2,000 pesos, on some fresh fruit and vegetables.

“My mother makes 1,500 pesos, via her pension. And I just blew it on a bunch of bananas, some garlic, onions, 2 pounds [of] tomatoes and a cabbage.”

Guerra’s family isn’t poor, by Cuban standards — mainly because he’s been helping them for years. But today’s food shortages are hitting everyone. The economic crisis gripping Cuba, an isolated, socialist country largely shunned by global markets, appears to have no end in sight. Hundreds of thousands of mostly young Cubans have left the country in recent months, and those who stay behind are growing more desperate. 

During his trip, Guerra documented the state of affairs in photos. Here’s a gallery of his snapshots below.