Cuba continues to surpass itself in surrealism, with situations and scenes typical of that movement created in 1920 by a group of artists, who adopted automatism and the subconscious as their creative principles. Because the automatism in the town these days has been triggered and the one who reigns is the subconscious, manifested in the crowds of the public in search of sustenance.
Dalí multiplied in melted faces that cannot access the offers. Thousands of Breton, Max Ernest, Man Ray, Joan Miró, Yves Tanguy all over the island, returning home empty-handed, mechanical men defeated, dreams lost in volatile silhouettes.
One hundred years after the movement was created, the “shrinking” of the fish before the astonished eyes of the customers, becomes the highest expression of Cuban surrealism in 2020.
The line to buy begins at a safe distance to keep the entrance of a fish shop in Jaimanitas (Havana) clear. A young woman named Leidys, mother of little Brando, does not have a turn, but says that she entered the “list of failures”, controlled by Mayra, the representative of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC).
“They only buy 50 shifts a day,” Leidys adds. “All the shifts are given for two days, when the fish sale ends. I’m signed up to see if someone fails ”.
With Mayra, the list is controlled by other “factors” of the Popular Council: Armando the politician, with a New York Yankees cap, Nidia the ideological one, who goes out to the dissatisfied and their doubts, and a captain of the National Revolutionary Police.
The officer wears a faded uniform and his face looks tired. At noon they bring him a box of food, he devours it in the shade of a tamarind tree, then he returns, wiping his mouth with his hands.
In the queue there is discomfort, because of the sun and waiting. Some people have been coming for several days without their turn. Enrique Fundichely, alias “Tigre”, arrives and asks to sign up. People laugh, they tell him that all turns are given, even on the miss list.
Tigre is a frustrated artist. As a child he wanted to be Dalí, Picasso, and ended up as an assistant in the studio of the painter Alberto Sosabravo. With the pandemic, Tigre was unemployed, and as a fierce feline he has nothing left: he is one more lamb in the herd and without the possibility of buying. He stands in line, protesting:
“Amazing! In a fishing village! I remember as a child that eating fish was disgusting. Now you have to sleep several nights here to buy it! ”.
The row heats up. People get emboldened and begin to protest. Picúa, son of the legendary fisherman Pejediente, has been in line for three days and dreams of a grilled snapper for these holidays, since he could not buy pork. Picúa says aloud: “Sure Canel and Murillo have the freezers full, not only with fish, but also lobster, beef, cheese, yogurt … “
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