I served as Creative Lead and Art Director with RYOT for Nuestro Martí, a seven-minute Spanish-language VR documentary created for Google Cuba’s Havana launch. The project combined documentary filmmaking, cultural storytelling, music, graphic overlays, and a three-day public activation.
client
Google Cuba
year
2016–2017
role
Creative Lead + Designer
VR Documentary
Cultural Activation
Creative Direction
Problem
We were introducing unfamiliar technology in a politically and culturally sensitive environment. The experience needed to demonstrate what VR could do while feeling grounded in Cuban history and respectful of José Martí’s importance. It also had to work offline, at scale, with equipment transported into Havana.
Solution
I worked with RYOT across Havana, New York, and Florida to shape the documentary’s visual direction and narrative. We collaborated with Havana historian Eusebio Leal Spengler on the Spanish narration and Puerto Rican musicians on the score. For the launch, we prepared 100 Android devices and 100 Google Cardboard viewers, then built the collateral and activation plan for community members, schools, officials, and local businesses.
Impact
The project premiered at Basílica San Francisco in Old Havana, then expanded beyond the three-day activation through Google Arts & Culture. The film and related Cuban cultural archives gave audiences worldwide a way to experience José Martí’s story and discover Cuban cultural heritage. In Havana, the launch introduced many attendees to VR for the first time and created goodwill by centering a national hero in an accessible, culturally respectful experience.
