In Central Havana, a schoolboy walks past a street filled with piles of uncollected garbage, some of it still burning along the curb. With fuel shortages crippling municipal services, trash collect (...)
ion has become increasingly irregular, leaving waste to accumulate in residential neighborhoods. Residents have begun setting fire to the piles, sending smoke through the streets and exposing children and families to hazardous air as they go about their daily routines. La Havana, Cuba. April 8, 2026. © Moises Saman/Magnum Photos
Young performers from the Compañía Cirabana circus train inside a deteriorating former theater in central Havana. The group, made up of children and teenagers from at-risk families, rehearses acrob (...)
atics and juggling routines with limited equipment, relying in part on donations to sustain their activities. As Cuba faces a prolonged economic crisis marked by shortages of food, fuel, and basic services, frequent blackouts and limited access to electricity have made training conditions more difficult, with little ventilation inside the space. La Havana, Cuba. April 7, 2026. © Moises Saman/Magnum Photos
A caregiver assists an elderly resident during a meal inside the Santovenia convent in Havana, where older adults receive daily care and support. As shortages of food, medicine, and basic services (...)
persist across the island, religious institutions like Santovenia have increasingly taken on a central role in providing assistance to vulnerable populations. La Havana, Cuba. April 7, 2026. © Moises Saman/Magnum Photos
A barber cuts a client’s hair inside a small barbershop in Viñales, Cuba. American tourism was once a key source of income for the community, a town long shaped by visitors drawn to its surrounding (...)
tobacco fields and landscape. In recent years, visitor numbers across the island have declined amid economic instability, tighter travel restrictions, and ongoing shortages, leaving many local businesses with fewer customers and reduced income. Viñales, Cuba. April 6, 2026. © Moises Saman/Magnum Photos
Pepe Alfonso rests in a hallway of his home in Cuajaní after a day in the field.
In parts of the Cuban countryside, limited access to fuel, transport, and modern infrastructure continues to shape (...)
daily routines, with horses still playing an essential role in movement and labor. Pinar del Rio Province, Cuba. April 6, 2026. © Moises Saman/Magnum Photos
Television screens display archival footage of Fidel Castro delivering speeches at the Fidel Castro Ruz Center in Havana, where moments from his decades-long leadership are preserved and presented (...)
as part of the country’s historical narrative. The images show Castro addressing crowds and assemblies, reinforcing the central role of his voice and image in Cuba’s revolutionary identity.
The center functions as both a museum and institutional space dedicated to safeguarding the legacy of the Cuban Revolution, offering visitors a curated view of its history through speeches, documents, and audiovisual material.
At a moment when Cuba is dealing with a deepening economic crisis and mounting structural strain, these images of the past stand in stark contrast to the present, where the enduring symbols and rhetoric of the revolution persist, even as the realities of everyday life reveal a widening gap between the ideology of the revolution and the lived experience of regular Cubans. Havana, Cuba. March 31, 2026. © Moises Saman/Magnum Photos
Cuban national athletes train inside a gym at the Estadio Panamericano, where aging equipment and worn out interiors reflect years of limited resources and maintenance.
Built for the 1991 Pan Ame (...)
rican Games, the stadium complex was designed to showcase the country’s strength in international competition. Today, like much of Cuba’s infrastructure, it bears the marks of prolonged economic strain, fuel shortages, and a lack of investment. Despite these constraints, athletes persist, training with what is available, adapting to conditions, and preparing for competition. Havana, Cuba. March 30, 2026. © Moises Saman/Magnum Photos
Residents take part in a Viernes Santo (Good Friday) procession through the streets of Matanzas, carrying a large wooden cross as they move through neighborhoods marked by aging buildings and visib (...)
le signs of neglect.
In recent years, as Cuba faces a deepening economic crisis and the erosion of public services, religious expressions have taken on renewed significance, offering both spiritual refuge and a space for communal gathering. In cities like Matanzas, where shortages and uncertainty weigh heavily on daily life, such processions reflect how faith and tradition persist alongside the mounting challenges of the present. Matanzas, Cuba. April 3, 2026. © Moises Saman/Magnum Photos
Young dancers wait backstage before a street performance in Old Havana.
In a country marked by mounting economic hardship, cultural expression remains a vital outlet, particularly for younger gene (...)
rations. Dance groups like these continue to perform in streets and plazas, offering both a sense of continuity and moments of joy amid the uncertainty of daily life. La Havana, Cuba. March 30, 2026. © Moises Saman/Magnum Photos
Hanel Hernández Torres (right) prepares a meal in her home in Matanzas as her son, Kyliam, sits on the staircase nearby.
With cooking oil often unavailable or prohibitively expensive, many familie (...)
s are forced to improvise their daily meals using whatever ingredients they can access. Across much of Cuba, particularly outside Havana, shortages of basic goods have become routine, shaping not only what people eat, but how they cook, live, and adapt within increasingly constrained conditions. Matanzas, Cuba. April 2, 2026. © Moises Saman/Magnum Photos
Residents gather along a street in Matanzas, Cuba, during a Good Friday procession. In recent years, public religious observance has become more visible across Cuba, offering a space for collective (...)
reflection amid a period of deepening economic strain. Matanzas, Cuba. April 3, 2026. © Moises Saman/Magnum Photos
A billboard depicting revolutionary leader Ernesto “Che” Guevara stands along a road in Varadero, Cuba. Long associated with Cuba’s political identity and historical narrative, Che’s image remains (...)
a constant presence in public spaces. In Varadero, a resort town built on tourism, such symbols now appear against a backdrop of reduced activity, as the country’s ongoing economic crisis and declining visitor numbers reshape places once defined by international travel. Varadero, Cuba. April 3, 2026. © Moises Saman/Magnum Photos
Children gather along a quiet street in Cárdenas, Cuba, playing and lingering in the shade of weathered buildings. In towns like Cárdenas, where economic hardship and emigration have reshaped dail (...)
y life, streets often take on a slower rhythm, becoming shared spaces where children play and neighbors observe the passing time. Cardenas, Cuba. April 4, 2026. © Moises Saman/Magnum Photos
Schoolchildren and local residents gather beneath the shade of trees in Varadero, Cuba, as they prepare for an outdoor performance, raising a Cuban flag while a young musician tunes his guitar near (...)
by.
Informal cultural activities like these continue to animate public spaces even as the island faces deepening economic hardship. Varadero, Cuba. April 4, 2026. © Moises Saman/Magnum Photos
A man stands on a balcony under a single bulb, in a neighborhood in Havana sitting largely in darkness during a nighttime blackout.
Amid a deepening energy crisis fueled by severe shortages, aging (...)
infrastructure, and limited fuel imports, blackouts have become routine and unpredictable. Entire neighborhoods are plunged into darkness for hours at a time, reshaping daily life and exposing the strain on a system increasingly unable to sustain even the most basic services. La Havana, Cuba. March 31, 2026. © Moises Saman/Magnum Photos
Hilda Rosario Rodríguez, 77, sits inside her one-room apartment in Matanzas, where she lives alone and depends on help from neighbors to get through daily life. The small living space has stained w (...)
alls and minimal furnishings, offering a glimpse into the fragile conditions faced by many elderly Cubans, particularly outside Havana, where shortages are often more acute and access to services and support is more limited. Matanzas, Cuba. April 3, 2026. © Moises Saman/Magnum Photos