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Lithographed Commemorative Tin — "XX Aniversario" (20th Anniversary of the Moncada Assault)

Object/Artifact

A cylindrical lithographed sheet-metal tin with rolled rims top and bottom. The exterior carries a continuous wraparound frieze of stylized, geometric children cartoon in a flat mid-century graphic style, striding in procession against a cream ground. Among them: one dressed as a soldier with a slung rifle and holstered sidearm; one dressed in blue and green as a militiaman holding a pistol; one with a multicolored beach ball; one dressed like a campesino in a wide yellow/orange straw hat with blue trousers; and one carrying a bag/briefcase printed with the "XX ANIVERSARIO" emblem — two interlocking red X's on a blue ground, "ANIVERSARIO" beneath. Photos courtesy of Estela Estevez and Eira Arrate. Object not in the Cuba Material collection.

The emblem ties the tin to 1973, the "Año del XX Aniversario," marking twenty years since the 26 July 1953 Moncada assault — the act from which the 26 of July Movement and the Revolution trace their origin. The parading figures personify "el pueblo" — militia, campesino, children, workers — in a celebratory civic procession typical of anniversary graphics. The object is a Cuban commemorative container; its precise function is uncertain (most likely a candy/confectionery tin or a children's savings bank produced for the anniversary). The flat, geometric, brightly colored illustration is characteristic of early-1970s Cuban graphic design.

Estela Estevez and Eira Arrate's collection

1973

1970s

"XX ANIVERSARIO" (interlaced double-X emblem, printed on the bag motif).

Cilíndricas tin body; top lid

Metal

Tin-Plated Steel (Tinplate): The standard rigid sheet metal used to form the structural body. Lithographic Ink: The baked-on, weather-resistant enamel ink layer forming the exterior graphic.

Fair

M-26-7

imagery

Cuban Revolution

Attack on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks