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The Cuban artist Julio Llopiz-Casal shared on Facebook the story behind the design of a cap that has become a symbol of camaraderie and bravery among Cuban internet users, after the U.S. chargé d'affaires in Cuba, Mike Hammer, was seen wearing it.
“I created this simple design purely for pleasure and those inspirations that sometimes strike me in the CPU. The word Mike, with a hammer underneath: what you see is what you see, and what it is… is also,” explained Llopiz-Casal when presenting the design that refers to the surname of the diplomat Hammer, which means hammer in English.
The artist recounted that the idea came to life when the opportunity to produce the caps arose, and that Hammer himself expressed interest in the design.
“The chargé d'affaires liked the design; I wasn't surprised, but I also didn't imagine it would be so significant. Mike Hammer is a pleasant and attentive man, a diplomat who does what I believe diplomats should do. But the most important thing is that Mike Hammer does what politicians in Cuba should do more and better, yet they lack both the courage and the desire,” wrote the creator.
In her post, Llopiz-Casal also thanked journalists Mario J. Pentón and Miguel Cossio for their contributions in bringing the hats to life: “Thanks to Mario J. Pentón and Miguel Cossio for their efforts in making these beautiful accessories a reality. And thanks to Mike Hammer, of course,” she concluded.
Hammer himself reacted to a post by Miguel Cossio —who is also the Director of Operations at the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora— who wrote: “We need to take our hats off, as we say in Cuba, to this ‘yuma’.”
The diplomat responded with humor and camaraderie: “Thank you for the support, Miguel, but don't take off this hat.”
The interaction is a gesture of closeness and empathy from the American representative, in contrast to the usual distancing of the regime's authorities from civil society.
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