5242 x 3494 px | 44,4 x 29,6 cm | 17,5 x 11,6 inches | 300dpi
Data acquisizione:
12 giugno 2009
Ubicazione:
Havana, Cuba
Altre informazioni:
Behind these flags is the Swiss Embassy in Havana but it also houses the United States Interests Section. The US has no formal diplomatic relations with Cuba so this is as close as it gets to a presence in the country and as such has served as the focus for the propaganda war between the two countries. In 2006 George Bush's US administration began displaying messages in moving electronic billboard which ran across 25 windows of the building. In five foot high red letters there ran quotes from the likes of Abraham Lincoln and Martin luther King and criticism of the Castro's regime. One from US comedian George Burns read: "How sad that all the people who would know how to run this country are driving taxis or cutting hair." Castro responded by building a wall of flags to block out the messages. It is a most spectacular display of defiance. In June 2009 the electronic billboard was switched off under the direction of The US State Department which that said the "dueling" was not productive.
