Hamlet Lavastida is a Cuban visual artist and political activist. He was a founder at both of Cuba’s most prominent artist-led campaign groups, 27N and the San Isidro Movement (MSI).
Lavastida was imprisoned on June 26th, 2021, as he returned from an artistic residency in Berlin. He was arrested for an unrealised idea he had shared with members of the 27N activist group, to stamp Cuban currency with subversive anti-Communist symbols.
Lavastida spent three months incarcerated in Villa Marista, the high security prison famous for holding political prisoners, and was named a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International in August 2021.
He was released in September on condition of exile for him and his partner, the poet and activist Katherine Bisquet. He resides in Germany.
