Surviving the Impossible 1

A young mother feeds her child with a bottle outside the general store where she works in Havana on July 13, 2023. Domestic life often spills onto the streets in Cuba, where cramped living conditions leave many families with little space inside their homes.



Raising children in Cuba has become increasingly difficult due to the deepening economic crisis. Many Cubans cannot afford to have children, contributing to one of the lowest birth rates in Latin America. In 2023, only 90,300 births were recorded—the lowest figure in six decades and a 15% drop from 2020. The decline has been driven by widespread shortages, the mass exodus of young people, strained healthcare services and limited family support policies. The downward trend continued in 2024, with 20% fewer births reported in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2023.

Surviving the Impossible 2

The interior of a bicycle taxi garage in Havana is shown on November 3, 2024. Many of these workplaces are in poor condition, with old furniture, cracked walls, and outdated equipment, reflecting the challenges faced by workers in Cuba’s informal transport sector.



Workspaces like this are common throughout Cuba, where economic hardship and material shortages force many to work in deteriorating, makeshift environments. Amid crumbling walls and outdated tools, portraits of revolutionary figures like Che Guevara still hang on the walls—a reminder of past ideals that now coexist with the stark realities of daily survival.

Surviving the Impossible 3

A baker waits behind the counter of a state-run bakery in Old Havana, Cuba, on July 18, 2022. Food shortages have severely limited the availability of basic products such as bread.

Until a few years ago, many Cuban bakeries offered a wider variety of goods, but the ongoing economic crisis has made ingredients scarce and forced widespread rationing. Today, bread is often among the few items available, reflecting the growing struggle to maintain even the most basic food supplies on the island.

Surviving the Impossible 4

Lázaro Cantero and his family spend the afternoon in the shared courtyard of the building where they live with several other families in Old Havana, Cuba, on July 18, 2022. Domestic life often unfolds in communal spaces due to overcrowded housing conditions.

As his wife described the challenges of life in Cuba, Lázaro remained silent, focused on his work. When asked what keeps them going, he replied with a single word: “Art.”

Surviving the Impossible 5

A girl plays outside her home as her grandfather watches from the doorway in Trinidad, Cuba, on July 14, 2022. It is common for grandparents to care for young children in Cuba, especially when both parents are working.

Behind everyday scenes like this, many Cuban families face an invisible struggle: food shortages and rationing have left countless children with nutritional deficiencies, including iron, iodine and vitamin A—adding another layer of hardship to daily life.

Surviving the Impossible 6

The interior of a typical Cuban home is shown in Havana on July 20, 2023. Many living spaces feature a mix of aging furniture, improvised decor and signs of wear, reflecting years of economic hardship.

Housing shortages and decades of financial strain have left many Cuban homes in poor condition. Residents often rely on repurposed materials and creative solutions to make these spaces functional, despite peeling paint, crumbling walls and limited resources.

Surviving the Impossible 7

Children play marbles on a street in Trinidad, Cuba, as an elderly woman walks by on July 13, 2022. Scenes like this are common in Cuban neighborhoods, where different generations often share outdoor spaces.

Cuba faces overlapping demographic challenges. The country has one of the oldest populations in Latin America, with nearly 23% of residents over age 60—many of whom struggle to access essential medicines due to shortages and a deteriorating healthcare system. At the same time, economic hardship has led to high school dropout rates, particularly in rural areas, as some children leave school due to financial pressures or family obligations.

Surviving the Impossible 8

Pedrito shapes wooden dolls inside an improvised workshop set up in an abandoned factory in Havana, Cuba, on July 20, 2023. Like many others, he works outside the formal economy, using tools that he and his coworkers repair or receive as donations.

With official jobs scarce and wages often too low to cover basic needs, many Cubans turn to informal work to survive. Pedrito supports his family by carving wooden crafts for tourists, earning modest amounts in foreign currency—a fragile but vital source of income in a struggling economy.

Surviving the Impossible 9

A woman sings and dances during a Friday gathering at Peña Semilla Nueva in Havana Centro, Cuba, on Nov. 1, 2024. The weekly event brings together locals to share music, poetry, dance and personal stories.

Peña Semilla Nueva has become a vital community space where artists, amateurs and neighbors gather to create and connect. In a country where daily hardships are compounded by widespread restrictions on freedoms and economic uncertainty, gatherings like this offer more than just artistic expression—they serve as a form of resistance and mutual care. Through music, poetry and shared stories, participants find solidarity, reclaim their voices and create a rare space of collective refuge amid Cuba’s ongoing crisis.

Surviving the Impossible 10

Heavy rain falls during a blackout in Playa Larga, Cuba, on July 14, 2023. The island has faced frequent power outages due to a worsening energy crisis.

Widespread blackouts have severely disrupted daily life across Cuba, with some areas experiencing outages lasting several hours to multiple days. The crisis has been driven by an aging electrical grid, poor maintenance and breakdowns at key power plants. While the government has promoted energy-saving measures—including a plan to increase renewable energy use—many Cubans continue to struggle with unreliable power supplies.