This set of photographs could be familiar to some viewers, especially Cubans, because they are well-known snapshots related to the visual narrative of the Cuban Revolution. However, the artist introduced an element of estrangement that we can detect in the empty podiums, deserted landscapes, or incomplete scenes. The protagonist of these images, the leader who popularized them, Fidel Castro, has been removed from them. A careful digital treatment has been used to remove the dictator and reconstruct the scenes. This gesture questions this political figure’s place and role, and the dictatorial nature of the Cuban government, while generating in the viewer questions about other destinies, perhaps “happier” ones, that the Cuban nation could have experienced.

Leyva Novo graduated in 2008 from the Instituto Superior de Arte. He has developed multidisciplinary work that analyzes power structures through past and present events. His work questions official stories, makes subaltern narratives visible, and proposes new interpretations of history and politics.