Description
* Revealing portrait of day by day life in Cuba that explores how the socialist system has operated at the ground over the past two decades
* Shows how social networks and neighborhoods were important in sustaining Fidel’s regime at the same time as other socialist countries were collapsing within the late 80s
The abrupt collapse of the Soviet Union and the East European Communist Bloc in 1989 plunged Cuba into a catastrophic economic crisis that spawned unprecedented hardship, magnified social tensions, and emigration within the thousands. In July 1990, a somber Fidel Castro referred to as upon the masses to prepare for a sustained period of hard times.
Inside El Barrio charts the legacy of Fidel Castro during the unique lens of Cuban household life all the way through El Período Especial (the Special Period). Taylor traverses the neighborhoods and residential developments of Havana between 1989 and 2006, the final and most complex period within the “Age of Castro’s Cuba” to uncover the hidden vibrancy of Cuba’s streets and citizens. In doing so, he acquires a deeper understanding of Cuban society by exploring what it means to live in a people-centered nation and the importance of neighborhoods in shaping on a regular basis life and culture.