To outsiders, it may seem like the march of time has left Cuba behind. A land in limbo, the tiny island nation seems forever crouched between two shadows: behind it, the ghost of the collapsed Soviet empire; in front of it, blocking the path ahead, the ever-hostile spectre of US imperialism.
Yet beyond the crumbling sidewalks, spluttering 1950s cars and faded revolutionary slogans, this peculiarly stubborn nation is constantly changing.
2011 marks the 20th consecutive year the United Nations General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to condemn the US embargo on Cuba – a unilateral set of sanctions that, according to Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, has caused almost one trillion dollars in damage.
In this photo essay, Inga Ting looks at how Cuba has forged a path through half a century of US sanctions to emerge on the other side, crippled and limping but defiant as ever.
Click on the image above to watch the slideshow. Photo: Inga Ting
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