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

​​​The economic crisis crippling Cuba is causing shortages of everything, from gas to food to medical supplies. Filmmaker Armando Guerra, who lives in Valencia, Spain, recently returned to his home city of Camaguey in central Cuba, where he found that things are worse than he expected.

The World

The state of the economy is evident on the highways in Cuba, which are empty, except for the occasional truck or tourist car.

Armando Guerra/The World

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.

highway
Hundreds of thousands of mostly young Cubans have left the country in recent months. As a testimony to that, the highways are stark.Armando Guerra/The World
Postcards of life in Camaguey.
A view of a street in Camaguey, Cuba.Armando Guerra/The World
city street
Armando Guerra, who lives in Valencia, Spain, recently returned to his home city of Camaguey in central Cuba where he found that things are worse than he expected.Armando Guerra/The World
Postcards of life in Camaguey.
During Armando Guerra’s two-week trip to Cuba last month, he accompanied his family on endless searches for food, medicine and water.Armando Guerra/The World
Postcards of life in Camaguey.
Filmmaker Armando Guerra, who lives in Valencia, Spain, visited his parents in Cuba last month. The country’s economic woes worry him: “It’s always exciting to be back. But all the news from the last two years makes me worry about my mom and dad,” he said.Armando Guerra/The World
Postcards of life in Camaguey.
The economic crisis gripping Cuba, an isolated, socialist country largely shunned by global markets, appears to have no end in sight.Armando Guerra/The World
During a blackout affecting half the island, it's so hot the family climbs on the roof and hangs out, enjoying the breeze.
During a blackout affecting half the island, it’s so hot the family climbs on the roof and hangs out, enjoying the breeze.Armando Guerra/The World
Armando Guerra's dad on the roof with his plants.
Armando Guerra’s dad — also named Armando Guerra — is shown on the roof of his house with his plants.Armando Guerra/The World
Armando Guerra's dad, also named Armando Guerra, grows herbs and vegetables in clay pots on the roof of their single-story rowhouse.
Armando Guerra’s dad, also named Armando Guerra, grows herbs and vegetables in clay pots on the roof of their single-story rowhouse.Armando Guerra/The World
Mom and her cats at home.
Armando Guerra’s mom, Ondina Vazquez, and her cats are shown at home.Armando Guerra/The World
Leanny at home making a cake.
During his recent trip to Cuba, Armando Guerra met a woman named Leanny, a doctor who was hitchhiking with her mom (she didn’t give her full name because doctors in Cuba have to get permission to speak to reporters).Armando Guerra/The World
Postcards of life in Camaguey.
Leanny, who Armando Guerra gave a lift to — with her mother — on his way to Camaguey, his hometown in Cuba, bakes cakes on the side to make ends meet.Armando Guerra/The World
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