Duration - 8:01

[a video about Cuba from the news collective Belly Of The Beast]

While Washington doubles down on its economic war on Cuba, one young activist from Minneapolis packed his bag and flew to Havana. Lavish came not despite U.S. aggression, but because of it, to show solidarity with the Cuban people.

On International Workers’ Day, Lavish was joined by Josué, a young Cuban researcher who has been attending May Day marches since he was a child. The two come from different worlds, but found common ground in Havana.

Cuba is living through one of its hardest economic moments in decades. And yet, there are people in the United States who choose to show up anyway, to stand alongside a people they believe deserve dignity, sovereignty and the right to live without the threat of war or foreign intervention.