Infomercial

– 16:48 min, Single channel video with sound –

Produced in collaboration with ETRES.

ETRES is Cuba’s first ad agency since the Cuban Revolution in 1959, and the platform for their work is the Paquete Semanal. Weist and Siré contracted them to create this motion-graphics “infomercial” illustrating the historical, social, and economic conditions that led to El Paquete Semanal.

The system’s roots extend back to the 1970s, when after more than 10 years of full governmental control of media, an underground novel rental industry was developed, assuming a national exchange network. This same network evolved to circulate new media: VHS tapes beginning around the late 1990s, and DVDs toward the mid 2000’s. Finally, El Paquete Semanal took advantage of the increasing presence of satellite TV antennas, the legalization of personal electronic devices, and the emergence of a small number of institutional internet connections. While the digital copy-system remains technically illegal, it is tacitly permitted through non-enforcement by the government.