I’ve been wanting to show these pics for so long now! They were all made by Av’s father, during his trip to Cuba last summer. This is the home / art environment of Jose Fuster, who lives in the Jaimanitas neighborhood of Havana.
He has exhibited all over the world and uses the funds he makes at those shows to improve not only his home but those of his neighbors.
Reuters ran this article about him last year.
Part of the article reads:
By standards in Cuba, where people receive various social benefits but earn an average of $20 a month, he makes a bundle of money and has freedom to travel abroad that most Cubans do not.
But he views his sales as a source of hard currency for his cash-strapped country. He happily pays the required 50 percent taxes on art income and says he invests most of what’s left in Jaimanitas, either in the art works or in helping his less-fortunate neighbors.
“I have the idea that I have to give back part of my money,” he said. How much has he invested in Jaimanitas? “I don’t know. Everything,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. His neighbors use the funds for home repairs and other needs.
