Cuban poster's history is divided in 2 parts. Before Fidel Castro took power in 1959, when the only political posters were those used for political campaigns and the majority of movie posters came from the United States, with the movie reels. The style, even the ones printed in Cuba, was commercial and it's function was to make people go and watch the movie.
Eladio Rivadulla. Notice how his style changed after the Revolution.
When the revolution took control, a group of graphic designers were
called on the need of a new image, fresh as the revolution, an image that had to be esthetically opposite to the old school. Since the government
had no need to advertise the movie -they became very affordable and
movie theaters were always full- the silkscreen movie poster became an
art form by itself. The artists were encouraged to research and learn from the world's best graphic designers at the time. This group of Cuban
artists -often called the Golden Team- were producing with such quality
and intensity that they start winning prestigious prizes and recognition
from all over the world as soon as 1964; articles and books were
published and graphic and collectors began taking interest. They were
creating posters for political, social and cultural organizations at the same time. The result was a body of work that because it was influence by many cultures , it developed an eclectic and artistic style of its own.
They intended to be internationalist, usually had their message written in Spanish, English, French, and Arabic. As opposed to being put up on walls around Cuba, these posters were instead folded up and stapled into copies of Tricontinental, so that they could be distributed internationally. This allowed OSPAAAL to send its message to the several hundred thousand subscribers around the world.
Reboiro’s poster for Harakiri won a prize in the International Film Poster Competition organized by The Cinema Sixteen Society of Ceylon (Cambodia) in 1965
