Havana

This bitter sweet series captures Havana in a state of flux as the country reaches closer to foreign influences and investments. Nevertheless, this lure of thrilling economic growth remains unreachable for most of its inhabitants. Some streets may have received cosmetic repair for president Obama's visit but everywhere else, houses are still crumbling and life remains a daily struggle. The half deflated ghosts of Chinese balloons on walls of a pensioner's restaurant encapsulate the sense of exhaustion that prevails everywhere. Seven glasses of water, on offer to the Orishas, provide a veneer of respectability and expectations. Young people train their bodies in hope for a favourable exile; anywhere but elsewhere in search of this utopian 1 million dollar note that adorns a watch repair shop. Meanwhile, the stage is being reset; vehement old signs of "Socialism Or Death" are moving to the background, making space for homemade Disney icons with mandatory smiles, bringing out the discrepancy between tired hopes of the population and a dire state of things.