Connection

In 2016, ETECSA – the only telephone company in Cuba – installed Wi-Fi routers in 18 public parks across the country. For many Cubans, this meant being able to go online for the first time. This portrait of one of these parks with Wi-Fi in Havana shows how a new social meeting place is the result, as every day crowds of people with smartphones, tablets and chairs turn up to cluster together around the antennas. They help each other get online, roam around looking for better reception, and peer down at their screens together. During the day, old ladies turn up and in the evenings there are groups of young people. In the meantime, commerce is also flourishing, with vendors selling internet cards, drinks and snacks (“Pork crackling with Wi-Fi!”). Here, everyone has an opportunity to contact loved ones, explore social media, upload photos and find internet dates – very normal activities that reveal a rapidly-changing Cuba.