Editorial Carteles, S.A. (cover design: unknown, director: Alfredo T. Quilez), "Carteles," November 11, 1934, Vol. XXII, No. 43. Offset print, magazine.

This November 1934 issue of "Carteles" represents the magazine at its aesthetic and cultural zenith during Cuba's republican period, before the Revolution transformed the meaning of visual propaganda. The cover features a sophisticated Art Deco design showing a pale yellow silhouetted figure conducting or orchestrating four elegant red greyhounds or whippets against a deep blue background—a composition suggesting grace, control, and aristocratic leisure. The stylized dogs with their flowing lines and the human figure's balletic pose exemplify the international Art Deco style that dominated Cuban commercial design in the 1930s, drawing from European modernism while maintaining decorative elegance. Under director Alfredo T. Quilez's leadership, "Carteles" functioned as Cuba's premier illustrated weekly, combining society coverage, literature, political commentary, entertainment news, and cutting-edge graphic design. Founded in 1919, the magazine became essential reading for Havana's educated classes and aspiring middle sectors, offering a window onto both Cuban cultural life and international trends. The 10-cent price point made it accessible to broad audiences while maintaining editorial sophistication. This issue appeared during the tumultuous period following Gerardo Machado's overthrow in 1933, when Cuba experienced rapid governmental changes and intense political mobilization—contexts that "Carteles" documented through photojournalism and commentary while maintaining its commitment to cultural coverage and visual elegance. The magazine's title—meaning both "posters" and suggesting "letters/correspondence"—reflected its dual mission as both visual spectacle and textual chronicle. After 1959, revolutionary cultural workers would explicitly reference and critique "Carteles" as emblematic of bourgeois commercial culture that the Revolution superseded, yet they also recognized the magazine's role in establishing high standards for Cuban graphic design and cultural journalism that revolutionary publications would adapt and transform.