Traveling Among Worlds

Cuban Propaganda Posters

For a Vietnam Ten Times More Beautiful, is a poster created by Alberto Blanco and OSPAAAL. Created in 1980, this poster intended to spread awareness of an attempt to overthrow the Vietnamese communist government. The poster title is displayed at the bottom and has been translated in Spanish, English, French, and Arabic. The poster depicts an older man in the background with two children, a military member, a worker, and a woman picking flowers. Stars are shown in the poster, possibly connecting to the yellow star in the Vietnam flag. The poster is very vibrant and clean to illustrate the more beautiful Vietnam.

Jornadad Solidaridad con Cuba, is poster created by Olivio Martinez and OSPAAAL. This poster was created around 1970, and it was a poster to share solidarity with Cuba on the anniversary of the end of the Cuban Revolution and end of the Batista Regime. This poster is very colorful and the title is written throughout in various languages including Spanish, English, French, and Arabic. The Cuban flag is in the center of the poster along with the date July 26.

These posters piqued my interest because the Cuban Revolution was an interesting era and has had a lasting impact on both the world and the people in Cuba. I was unaware that Cuba and Vietnam have a diplomatic relationship or that Vietnam is currently ruled by the Vietnamese communist party. The For a Vietnam Ten Times More Beautiful poster led me to research more on their relationship and the similarities they have. I also researched what was happening at the time the posters were created to provide a historical context for the posters. These posters are both very vibrant, colorful, and aesthetically pleasing. Propaganda posters tend to be eye-catching with deeper meanings we have to decipher.

This map demonstrates the location of Cuba and Vietnam on a map. Although they seem so far away and part of a different world, they are very much connected. Both countries have gone through a lot of change and have been impacted by foreign powers. At the time, these posters had plenty of significance and it was meant to share a message. Currently, without any context I wouldn't know why July 26 is so significant or what was happening in Vietnam in the 80s. When posters like these have been taken out of their original context, they can lose meaning. I initially viewed these posters as art and nothing more. I have learned to analyze and research primary sources to understand their context and what part of the world building they may have.

Reflection

References

Olivio Martinez. Jornadad Solidaridad Con Cuba. c. 1970. The Lindsay Webster Collection of Cuban Posters. Wofford College, JSTOR, https://jstor.org/stable/community.25194435. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025.

OSPAAAL (Cuban organization, 20th-21st centuries), and Blanco, Alberto (Cuban graphic artist). For a Vietnam Ten Times More Beautiful. offset printing, 1980. JSTOR, https://jstor.org/stable/community.487304. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025.

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