XI Aniversario del FNL de Viet Nam del Sur

This poster reads, “National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam.” The iconic red and yellow colors and star symbol of the Vietnamese flag are complimented with a vibrant blue and an image of a Vietnamese woman aiding a soldier loading a heavy artillery weapon. 

By the 1970s the United States was more than fully involved in the Vietnam War. At the same time this is occurring, a multitude of political and radical posters were being made by Cuban artists in light of Fidel’s Revolution. 

This poster was part of a series of posters designed by people such as Rene Mederos Pazos and Felix Beltran. These projects were issued under Cuba’s Department of Revolutionary Orientation as artists absorbed the numerous political happenings around the world that aligned with the revolution’s political focus. The results were posters such as these that echo the style of Cuban Revolutionary design but for a different revolution altogether. 

The depiction of families, human subjects, or a revolution involves a degree of collective responsibility and reveals when countries undergo extreme social transitions. Both Cuban Socialist design and design of post-WWII utilized visual propaganda. However, this poster attempts to transcend cultural barriers using bold design and the element of relatability, or empathy. Post-WWII familial imagery, on the other hand, used empathy to reinforce social/gendered conventions in a time of great upheaval.