Pro and Anti Castro Graffiti Face Off in the Canary Islands

Photo caption: Red text: “Fidel Lives. The Struggle Continues.” Black Text: “Don’t be Retarded.”

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 5 April 2017 — A little more than four months after Fidel Castro’s death, the former Cuban leader continues to stir up controversy outside his country. In the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, graffiti in support of the former president, spray painted using templates, has shown up on several walls.

However, one instance of the graffiti pained on the wall of abandoned tenement in the center of the island’s capital, gave rise to a duel among graffiti artists.

The portrait of Fidel Castro appears with two crosses over his eyes (which symbolize his death) and horns over his head, referring to the diabolical character of the former president. The phrase “Fidel lives. The Struggle Continues,” is completely crossed out by the second graffiti artist, who then paints “Don’t be retarded,” in reference to whomever stenciled the pro-Castro sign.

Within a short distance of this graffiti is the Cuban Consulate in the Canary Islands, where demonstrations for and against Havana’s government have taken place for years, with the participation of the Spanish Young Communists Union (UJCE).

On Tuesday, the other Young Communists Union (UJC) – the one in Cuba – celebrated its 55th anniversary, in the midst of a process of decline and a constant loss of membership.