The Book of Survival

Balancing documentary observation with symbolism, the image transforms an ordinary booklet into a reflection on endurance and memory. The women appear as custodians of their history, presenting a document that, for many, came to represent not only sustenance, but the ability to navigate scarcity with dignity. In their gesture resides a story of resilience measured in the accumulation of ordinary days.

Three women stand at the entrance of a ration store in Santiago de Cuba, presenting an open ration book to the camera. Held in the foreground and occupying the center of the frame, the small document becomes more than a practical object. Behind it, the women’s faces emerge as witnesses to a lifetime shaped by its pages.

Titled "The Book of Survival", the photograph centers on one of the most enduring symbols of everyday life in contemporary Cuba. For decades, the ration book has accompanied generations of citizens, becoming inseparable from the routines and uncertainties of daily life.