Paper short abstract:

Since 2015, parks gained popularity in Cuba with the installation of Wi-Fi antennas, allowing Cubans to connect to the Internet. This paper explores the phenomenon of the Wi-Fi antennas in parks to discuss new opportunities of research in contemporary Cuban’s public spaces.

Paper long abstract:

On the 1st of July 2015, Cubans had, for the first time, access to legal Wi-Fi Internet connections. In Santiago de Cuba, Wi-Fi antennas were installed in four main areas of the city: three in parks and one in a popular back alley. At twilight, many Cubans head for these public areas to access the Internet. Most connect to get in touch with their family and friends living abroad. The antennas become the magnet around which Cubans sit to catch the best possible connection.

In this context, parks began to attract new crowd of people, including young teenagers, and older generations, who meet in parks to communicate -mainly through Facebook and an application called IMO -their family and friends living abroad. Accessing Internet is deeply social and public in Cuba, providing another model (in comparison to private navigation often taken for granted) on how surfing the net takes place.

After reviewing some of the most recent changes in telecommunication in Cuba, the paper addresses alternative ways of accessing information online. It discusses how these practices are linked to new forms of traffic in public spaces, mainly parks. It further explores how this new phenomenon influenced the experiences of public spaces in Cuba. In expanding from the park to bigger questions of anthropological fieldwork, this paper discusses new research opportunities for public anthropology in contemporary Cuba.