Between Smoke and Reality: The Weight of Cigarettes in Cuba… for the #monomad challenge

In this photographic series, I explore the habit of smoking not merely as a daily gesture but as a reflection of deeper tensions within contemporary Cuban life. Through raw, unembellished black and white, I capture faces, hands, and moments hidden behind each puff. The images were taken with a Canon 60D and a 50 mm f/1.8 lens, using apertures between f/2.8 and f/1.8 to emphasize textures, shadows, and the intimacy of each scene.

Smoking in Cuba is no longer just an act of escape or social interaction. Today, it is also a symbol of inequality and sacrifice. As inflation devours salaries, a pack of cigarettes can cost up to 300 pesos. What was once an accessible vice is now a luxury that reveals the harsh economic reality we face.

And yet (here lies the paradox I portray) many people still choose to smoke. Despite the high prices, cigarettes remain, for many, a momentary refuge. A breath of relief in the face of the tensions of a society increasingly worn down by social neglect, accumulated shortages, and postponed hopes. That spark they light between their fingers does not just burn tobacco; it burns anxiety, frustration, uncertainty. It is a fleeting escape when real solutions seem out of reach.

These photographs invite you to look beyond the smoke into the stories, the hardships, and the contradictions of a country where even a cigarette can represent both escape and burden. Because in every gaze, in every hand holding the burning paper, lies the silent struggle of emotionally surviving in an environment that suffocates more than any puff of smoke ever could.

This work is a window without filters. It does not judge; it simply shows. Because photography, like life, sometimes hurts, but it always reveals.