In Little Cuba, appearance isn’t everything. On the fringe of the city limits of Cuba, Missouri, the neighborhood is a study of contrasts — modest homes with tidy, manicured lawns next to ramshackle houses draped in tarps. Peaking through overgrown brush like the forest which surrounds them are trailers that are home to families struggling to survive. Though many residents live in a fragile economic state, the lure of privacy has drawn residents and made them fiercely independent. The unifying factor in this diverse neighborhood is a resilience for life and love.