Robin Yong, 1957 (Portrait 2020)

I imagine the year to be 1957, where Havana was the world's fourth-most-expensive city at the time. According to the International Labour Organization, the average industrial salary in Cuba became the world's eighth-highest in 1958, and the average agricultural wage was higher than in developed nations such as Denmark, West Germany, Belgium, and France. Cuba also had Latin America's highest per capita consumption rates of meat, vegetables, cereals, automobiles, telephones and radios during this period. Many vintage buildings remain in Havana today, in exactly the same conditions as they were in the 1950s... and many of my friends still play and live in such buildings. And today, as the Castro era wanes, Cuba's youth have their doubts, dreams and their stories.... 1957 is a collection of portraits and stories of my friends in Havana...

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.