I Have to Live Free Yulier Rodriguez, a contemporary Cuban artist, sits at the dining room table in his house in Centro Habana, Cuba, on June 3, 2019. The eyes of one of his paintings peer over his shoulder. Creating work with anti-government messages like he does is isolating, "I don't have many friends," he says. The Cuban government forced Yulier to sign a document saying he would no longer paint on the street walls, so Yulier has started a new project called "El Regalo" (The Gift). He paints on rubble or scraps found on the street and puts them back as a gift to the Cuban people -- it's another public way for him to share his message, he says. After getting off of his bike, he bends down to pick up one of his gifts to share with the neighborhood. Yulier places one of his "gifts" on a pile of rubble on the side of a busy street in Centro Habana. Yulier pauses for a moment in his new studio to think about his painting. Yulier sells his art privately. He used to own a gallery, but the government forced his landlord to kick him out. Now, Yulier sells his art under the table. His new studio is at a private location in Havana -- only his family and close friends know where it is. He plans to move into the back of his studio once his fiancee gives birth to their child. Yulier paints the bottom of his canvas around a worm. The worms represent the powerless feeling Cuban people have against the government, he said. Yulier talks on the phone after dinner, while his fiancee Igmay sits at the table. Yulier's mother (far right), watches TV in their living room. Yulier, Igmay, and Yulier's mother all live together. Yulier was very concerned when the government threatened his mother. But if they do threaten him, Yulier said, it would look very bad for the government, because it would get a lot of international attention. Yulier is represented by Amnesty International now, so the government is a little more cautious before threatening him or his family, he says. Still, Yulier lives cautiously. Yulier and Igmay enjoy a sunset on the Malecon. They plan to get married soon and will have a child together next February. Yulier's paintings used to be on hundreds of walls in Havana, but now, very few exist. Slowly but surely, the government has been taking them down overnight. Many passerby associate the destroyed paintings with the decayed buildings, so most people don't even realize they're slowly being dismantled. Half of this painting in Centro Habana disappeared overnight in May 2019.
