Single motherhood in Cuba
Single mother Ara Santana Romero, 30, and her 11-year-old son, Camilo, have spent the past year and a half practically isolated in their Havana apartment. Just before the pandemic began, Camilo had achieved his biggest dream, getting accepted into music school. Two weeks after classes began, the schools closed and his classes were only televised. The return to the classroom was expected for mid-November, at which point all the children were scheduled to be vaccinated. According to a UNICEF analysis, since the beginning of the pandemic, 139 million children around the world have lived under compulsory home confinement for at least nine months.
Before the pandemic, Ara had undertaken several projects organizing literary events for students. After Havana went into quarantine and Camilo had to stay home, her days consisted mainly of getting food, looking after her son and doing housework. As a single mother with no help, she has put aside her wishes and aspirations. But Ara told me she never regretted having her son: “He gave me life.”
Ara (30), hugs her son Camilo (11) who complains of having a headache, in Havana, Cuba, on September 6, 2021. They have spent the last year and a half practically isolated in their apartment. Just before the pandemic began, Camilo had achieved his biggest dream, getting accepted in the music school. Two weeks after classes began, the schools were closed and the classes were only televised. The return to the classrooms is expected in November, when all the children will be vaccinated.
Left: Ara at home. She migrated to Havana from Cienfuegos in 2014 in search of better opportunities. She left Camilo with his grandparents at first but brought him to live with her half a year later.
Right: The morning light enters through one of the two windows of the apartment in Havana, Cuba, on September 6, 2021. The apartment they live in is located in the interior and the windows overlook the neighbor's house. The lack of sun makes it difficult for the plants to grow.
Camilo brushes his teeth after waking up at noon.
An empty plate on the dining room table on September 6, 2021 in Havana, Cuba. After returning from work, Ara ate the leftovers from the day before.
Camilo sleeps on a mattress on the floor while his mother is at work on September 7, 2021, in Havana, Cuba. Not attending school has changed his sleeping habits. There are days when he stays awake until dawn watching television and then sleeps until noon.
Ara and Camilo walk embraced back to the house, after a private solfeggio class, their only outing of the day, on September 9, 2021, in Havana, Cuba. 
Camilo plays the piano at his teacher's house on August 30, 2021, in Havana, Cuba. Twice a week, he has private piano and percussion lessons. Each class costs 100 Cuban pesos, about 4 usd. Although his specialty is percussion, piano is a core subject that all music school students must learn.
Ara holds the money to pay the taxi to Camilo's percussion class, on September 6, 2021, in Havana, Cuba. A shared taxi costs 15 pesos per person (which is equivalent to just over 0.5 usd ) and does established routes. They usually take a taxi to go and walk back to take advantage of the cool afternoon and get some exercise.
Ara helps Camilo do his Spanish language homework while she cleans the house on September 6 in Havana, Cuba. During the days before the school year began on television, Camilo went through several crying and sudden anger episodes.In 2020, professors from the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Havana conducted studies on the psychological effects of physical isolation on Cuban children and adolescents due to confinement in their homes. The first conclusion was that, although Cuban childhood is resilient and without the symptoms of severe psychological impairment, the boys and girls that were studied showed symptoms of psychological distress, resistance to studying at home, and lack of concentration.
Ara walks along the boardwalk on September 7, 2021, in Havana, Cuba. It is the day of the Virgin of Regla, which it syncretizes with Yemayá, the deity who owns the sea in the Afro-Cuban religion.
Ara conforts her son Camilo before receiving his first Covid vaccination on September 14 in H a v a n a , C u b a . T h e m a s s vaccination of children and adolescents began on September 13 with the expectation that schools could reopen in mid-November.
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