I decided to make my boyfriend a cassette mixtape for Christams fitted with songs and speech snippets to inspire the revolutionary spirit.

Cassettes, as it turns out, are quite outdated but not so obsolete that it's been pedastalized like vinyls and typewriters are. That is to say, $40 bucks will get you a decent set on Ebay.

I fought back against the feeling of absurdity as I sat there recording from Spotify, then designed these covers to finish off the gift. It was my first time really designing anything, so I had to get a little experimental to get the look just right. I ended up going with the top one (the one with the hammer and sickle inside a globe).

Side A:

• A recording of Fidel Castro on the flight over to New York City. The interviewer asks if the rumors are true that he always wears a bulletproof vest. Fidel confidently unbuttons his shirt to reveal his bare chest to the camera. "I have a moral vest. It is strong." He said.
• "Y en eso llego Fidel" by Pablo Neruda, Carlos Puebla
• "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton
• "Salt of the Earth" by The Rolling Stones
• "Hotel California" by Gypsy Kings
• "L'internazionale" by Bandiera Rossa
• "Words Of Wisdom" by 2Pac

Side B:

• A recording of a speech given by President Lula da Silva of Brazil before he turned himself in. "The powers that be might kill one, two or three roses, but they will never be able to stop the spring from coming."
• "Chinggis Khaan" by Mongolian throat singing group, Khusugtun
• "Chollima on the Wing" by North Korean Archives
• "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" by Gil Scott-Heron
• "Fight the Power" by Public Enemy
• "Hasta Siempre" by Carlos Puebla
• "Bella Ciao" by The Red Army Choir
• "5 Million Ways to Kill a CEO" by The Coup
• "Imagine" by John Lennon