S
ingle 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
started, 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.
A 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.”Natalia Favre is a photographer based in
Havana.Clockwise from above: Ara Santana Romero’s son, Camilo, 11, brushes
his teeth after waking up at noon. One of two windows in the family’s
Havana apartment, which faces another unit in the building and doesn’t
get much light. An empty plate on the dining room table. Previous pages:
Mother and son.
20 NOVEMBER 28, 2021 THE WASHINGTON POST MAGAZINE 21