A GLIMPSE OF CUBA: IMAGINATE!

La Habana Portrait

2008-03-15T23:34:00.000-05:00

Capitolio and Solitude in La Habana, Cuba

2008-02-15T03:02:00.003-05:00

It is so rare for me to pass by the Capitolio in La Habana and see just one individual. It was early morning and so quiet.

A close shave in Cuba...?

2008-02-03T23:40:00.000-05:00

When you have no razor or the money to buy a razor...you try a pair of scissors...

Like a Volcano...Cuba will explode!

2008-01-28T23:35:00.000-05:00

It's only a matter of time...as the older revolutionaries weaken and eventually pass on...the younger ones, having witness the waste of lives lived by their elders and know ing this too will be their fate someday...unless they...

Guajiro en Oriente...

2008-01-20T12:19:00.000-05:00

More accurately in the country just North of Banes.

One day I took a jeep and just wandered off down a dirt road...and just kept going. I have always had a curiousity about whats around the next bend...over the next hill...what's up those stairs. This character has served me well in Cuba and becoming intimate with the country.

On this trip I took my wife with me...she kept encouraging me to turn around and go home...but we came upon a village...and their we bought a piglet. This was April of 2001 and knowing that we would most likely be home at New Years. We got the main course early

The most peaceful times in Cuba have been on the farms. I definitely am a Guajiro at heart. Someday I'll have a farm there and raise pigs...no cuesta nada a sonar. (Costs nothing to dream)

Waiting for...

2008-01-07T03:24:00.000-05:00

Finish this comment for me..."Waiting for ______ ______..........

Happy New Year...

2008-01-04T02:13:00.000-05:00

and we all wonder...what will this year bring to us...how will Cuba change...who will be born...

Who will die? Will it be a better place...there is always hope that Cubans will see a better day.

Feliz ano nuevo!

Next year in Cuba..

2007-12-31T09:47:00.000-05:00

Taken in a cemetary in Guanabacoa...

Feliz Navidad!

2007-12-24T18:53:00.000-05:00

Wishing all of you viewing and those that cannot view a wonderful Nochebuena y prospero ano nuevo!

I repost this image....in the upper right hand corner on the right bell tower of La Catedral De La Habana you may be able to see where it says " Gloria A Dios En El Cielo y En La Tierra PAZ Feliz Navidad". This image was taken just before the visit of Pope John Paul II to Cuba in January of 1998.

Juntos Con Fidel...

2007-12-21T00:52:00.000-05:00

"Together with Fidel in the new millenium...happiness to you"

This image was taken towards the end of 1999...

M-26-7

2007-12-17T13:33:00.000-05:00

M-26-7

Always around July 26th throughout Cuba you'll find cuban flags...everywhere! As the months pass you'll continue to see traces of the small paper flags that adorn everything.

This is a very typical street scene in La Habana...so much life...someone on the street yelling up 6 stories...music from many different radios...the piropos...it's a very addictive energy. You could walk the same street every day at the same hour and it's miraculously always different...and the best part is you don't know what to expect around the next corner.

I spy...

2007-12-10T13:46:00.000-05:00

an "angel" and the "devil". This dance troupe was rehearsing for a show and I was fortunate enough to be seeing with my ears this day. Music is prevalent all over Cuba...it seems that no matter where you go, no matter what time...someone is listening to and moving to music.

Just one photo...then

2007-12-07T08:09:00.000-05:00

she was gone...I heard crying and next thing you know there's "mami" with child. Parents in Cuba are so protective of their children at a young age...

Getting ready for Nochebuena...

2007-12-04T20:05:00.000-05:00

It's this time of year that you'll begin to see hidden in balconies, bathrooms and any spare space the fat pig...all year families will feed whatever scraps they have to fatten him up. Quite often several families will "co-op" to share in the meat once he is butchered.

Nochebuena is a wonderful spanish tradition. Some traditions even communism can't eliminate.

Everything gets...repaired

2007-11-29T23:07:00.000-05:00

No matter what it is most items don't get thrown out they get repaired...in an economical model such as is Cuba's...everything has value. Cubans are meticulous about taking care of the few items that they possess.

Che oversees the Ruins of La Habana

2007-11-26T21:52:00.000-05:00

Anywhere you go in Cuba you'll see this image of Che Guevara in most homes, artwork, key chains. Capitalism runs amok in Cuba...and Che rolling wherever he might be. As I walked through this building...many parts of it have already collapsed...buildings that in many parts of the world would be condemned and destroyed...for lack of housing many Cubans have little choice but to live in ruins.

Street Portrait 1

2007-11-19T23:43:00.000-05:00

Taken at the corner of Neptuno and Galiano...

Pinar Del Rio-Train Station

2007-11-15T11:58:00.000-05:00

I find place that people meet fascinating and train stations are just that...

Waiting in Cuba is a national epidemic...you'll see lines everywhere. Cubans are very patient and waiting is a way of life.

They are waiting for a lot of "cambio".

Cubana in La Habana

2007-11-12T14:52:00.000-05:00

In La Habana it's commonplace to see or better yet hear a man whisper a "piropo" as a woman walks by him.

"If beauty were a sin, you’d never be forgiven."

"I’m now sure there is a heaven because I’ve seen an angel."

"Oh! If you could cook like you walk, I want to eat scraps!"

"So many curves, and me without brakes."

Pi-ro-po \pi-‘ro-po\n. pl-pos [Sp. Piropear]1. An amorous compliment 2: A flirtatious remark.

They say there are ghost in La Habana...

2007-11-10T01:19:00.000-05:00

Taken with a long exposure and as luck would have it, someone started walking through while the exposure was being taken...

"We Must Be Soldiers Of The Economy"

2007-11-07T00:08:00.000-05:00

All over Cuba, you'll see signs exorting Cubans to greater ideals, better times ahead...that all is well...I think the only ones that read these are the foreigners that visit Cuba.

Un hombre y un Pala

2007-11-02T22:07:00.000-05:00

Taken in the Plaza Vieja during it's renovation...

I am not sure what...

2007-10-28T01:45:00.000-05:00

looks worse for wear the bench or the human being?

Dance Recital on the Prado de La Habana

2007-10-28T01:43:00.000-05:00

So much hope, joy and possibilties...

Train Station in Guines

2007-10-26T08:25:00.000-04:00

Patiently waiting for a train...the silence...observations...gossip amongst others...I am most intrigued by the young woman sitting with child in her arms.

He used to play...

2007-10-22T17:45:00.000-04:00

baseball in the streets...jumped from the Malecon into the ocean...chased girls with reckless abandon...

Now he has a family to support and the "burden of adulthood" to live. So many young Cubans grow up with hope and promise...thinking their parents lives will not be repeated in their own...

This is a bicitaxi...transportation is so lacking in the cities that these inventions started showing up in the early "90's. Some are so elaborate they have radios/cd players...cushioned seats...lights...they are legal and licensed (taxed) but as the "paladares" have been so taxed that they are hard to find, so to will these someday meet the same fate.

With Fidel Revolution

2007-10-18T22:10:00.000-04:00

If with Fidel there is "revolution" ...one can only hope that without him...

The vertical letters references the "Commitee for the Defense of the Revolution" CDR

The CDR officials have the duty to monitor the activities of each person in their respective blocks. There is an individual file kept on each block resident, some of which reveal the internal dynamics of households. Most Cubans will tell you:, "We must be careful of our actions and of what we say, as we are being constantly monitored".

Other responsibilities include arranging festivals, administrating "voluntary" community projects and organizing mass rallies. The CDRs are organized on a geographical basis and act as a center for many who do not work in farms or factories, hence the committees have a large proportion of female membership. The committees have been cited by certain Human Rights groups as being involved in activity described in Cuba as "acts of repudiation". These acts are believed to include abuse, intimidation and sometimes physical assault against those deemed "counter-revolutionary".

Sometimes you gotta look up!

2007-10-16T22:50:00.000-04:00

When walking the streets of Cuba, it's more like a stroll. Looking forward isn't enough...there are many points of view...sometimes I walk backwards...look up...down...and I can't even begin to count the number of doorways entered and stairwells climbed.

This image was a nice surprise. I can only surmise that the window was created for an improvised bedroom in a room with a tall ceiling, this idea is called a "barbacoa" like a loft in concept. No space is wasted.

Cuba......Si

2007-10-12T22:31:00.000-04:00

This was taken in Santiago de Cuba...I loved the grafitti...the light was right and I just waited for the "ghosts" to pass by.

He told me that...

2007-10-09T23:31:00.000-04:00

he hasn't heard from his daughter in three years, that she lives in California.

Many of us may have family in Cuba...let's not drink from "la coca cola de olvidar"

If you have family in Cuba, reach out, don't let them feel as if they are forgotten.

Cuban Spirit

2007-10-04T07:59:00.000-04:00

I often refer to the Cubans patience, love for life and making cafe cubano from coffee and chicharos. (In the libreta, each family is entitled to Coffee...but the coffee often has "chicharos" added "chicharos are split peas grounded up to give the impression of more coffee)

So when life gives you cafe con chicharos...you make Cafe Cubano.

Bueno Dia Companero...

2007-10-03T07:58:00.000-04:00

"What's happening?...I really don't know"

"What do you mean?...I can't take care of my family anymore...my daughter has left the country in the arms of a tourist...my son took off on a raft for Miami and I haven't heard from him in three years...my wife has cancer and there is no treatment for her...we don't have the dollars necessary...

"Mentira...Maria went off with that old guy from?....y you haven't heard from Yusnel?...surely he's ok...one day he'll show up looking fine con mucho regalos. Surely with our health care there is a treatment available for Margot...there's health care for everyone!

"Oye Compadre...you said it yourself..."mentira"...it's all lies...I don't believe anymore...not even in myself...if I had been "hombre" enough...I could've taken care of them better...Maria wouldn't have turned to "jiniterismo"...Yusnell would've stayed instead of being eaten by "los tiburones" and Margot may have lived better and not gotten sick."

"I was once called the "new man" by the revolution...but in all reality I am just an old man con nada...no dreams...just a nightmare...

Tropical...paradise?

2007-10-02T08:26:00.000-04:00

Image taken on the famed Paseo del Prado in La Habana...

This guy doesn't even own a matching pair of shoes! A sandal and a shoe...the socks don't match...He's not homeless...this is what he has.

On my way...

2007-09-24T14:12:00.000-04:00

To Spain! I'll be back to posting next Monday...

Thanks to all of you that are visiting. Love to hear your comments!

Thank you...Roy

M7 Por Cotorro

2007-09-24T07:46:00.000-04:00

There are at least 5 set of eyes watching me...this is part of the camello M7 which runs to Cotorro on the outskirts of La Habana. Camello meaning 'Camel' as a metaphor to the look of this form of transportation. It's pulled by a a semi truck...has a hump in the front followed by a dip and another hump at the other end.

Transportation is unreliable at best...quite often late...always packed and a good chance you'll be groped or robbed.

Wise words...

2007-09-23T12:51:00.000-04:00

"Put your brain into function before putting your tongue in movement" a literal translation...

Oh how I wish I heeded these words so many times in life...

A building once stood in this location...quickly small shacks started being built. There is a tremendous lack of housing in La Habana. Most homes have several family members living together.

Icons

2007-09-21T22:40:00.000-04:00

Icons to many...can you spot them...Charles Barkley...Che Guevara...la Cubanita...the Catholic Church...

This image was taken the first year that Fidel Castro permitted the celebration of Christmas...just prior to the Pope's visit in 1998.

Superman in La Habana

2007-09-21T08:27:00.001-04:00

No he's not "that" Superman that we have heard about...

Walking along Avenida Montserrate in La Habana...I chanced upon this gentleman who repaired glasses...notice the collection of used frames. To his left on the wall was a page torn out from a magazine showing him in a Carnaval in the 50's dressed as Superman.

As I have noted in prior posts, everything in Cuba gets recycled and nothing is wasted...except the potential of the Cuban people.

No Hay Nada...

2007-09-17T08:26:00.000-04:00

I love notes, signs, little messages meant for someone to read. This one " NO HAY NADA" (There is nothing) was posted on a door of a state run store. Quite often these stores sell one item and when they run out, they close shop and try to find another way to resolve their day to day struggles.

I have seen this note many times... and heard it murmured many times on the lips of a passing Cubano.

CLICK: A Glimpse Of Cuba

A Cuban Portrait...Boys of Summer

2007-09-13T23:18:00.000-04:00

Tonight my son...looking forward to his first sporting experience...soccer...in the same breath asked when he gets to play "baseball" and this image came to mind...I relate most of my day to day experiences with experiences in Cuba.

So ingrained in my memory, I can remember details, locations...the sounds, what was going on around me...I have such a sense of peace and tranquility in Cuba...I feel led by a spirit...a presence that seems to be guiding my sense of feeling...seeing with my soul.

A Cuban Portrait...San Lazaro

2007-09-12T22:06:00.000-04:00

On a trip to the Church of San Lazaro on the outskirts of La Habana, el Rincon...a yearly pilgrimage takes place every December to this revered place...thousands journey to this place to pay a promise made to the San Lazaro, the patron Saint of the sick.

This gentleman sat next to the entry where many crippled and physically challenged Cubans can be found begging for any change, food or offering that a visitor may give.

A Cuban Portrait...Plaza Vieja

2007-09-12T21:24:00.000-04:00

At first I was attracted to the gesturing...slapping down of "las fichas"...the commentary..."me pegue"(the joyful, cocky voice of the player who puts his final domino piece on the table at the end of the game) but as I observed the "theater" that I love in life. I noticed this "actress" playing her role...I love the way she fixed her hair carefully bringing the curls out (reminiscent of a cupie doll) out from under her bandana...her bright eyes alert as they danced from each participants gestures...it was late in the day...

The "13 De Marzo" Incident

2007-09-10T11:57:00.000-04:00

When I photographed this little one from the docks of "la lancha de Regla" all I could think of was those innocent children...

"... until the suspicious deaths of the innocent are clarified, there will be no light in our country, or in our justice... There is no excuse for silence, silence cannot be forgiven. Nothing justifies crime, even [if it is carried out] in the name of the Revolution. That reminds us of when people have been killed in the name of God... We are waiting for justice to act."

This is quoted from a letter sent to the Cuban Minister of Justice and the Attorney General from several Cuban attorneys. More can be read in the official Amnesty International report on this sad incident.

The Sinking of the "13 de Marzo" Tugboat on 13 July 1994

Sometimes Colour...

2007-09-08T12:58:00.000-04:00

doesn't mask the reality of Cuba...

Home Depot in La Habana

2007-09-04T22:46:00.000-04:00

Most Habaneros live with the reality that when a pipe is beyond repair...that the electric wires short out...a glass breaks...that it won't be easily replaced. Stores just don't carry the items necessary for home maintenance...

But when a building collapses...and after every major tropical rainstorm and hurricane there are quite a few that go down...there's a run on the "home depot"... the resourceful Cuban knows that the ruins are recyclable.

Chacon...

2007-09-02T18:30:00.000-04:00

I first experienced Chacon in "La Bodeguita Del Medio" in 1996. He would play his "tambor" and sing a rap just whatever came to mind...as he would sing and play his tambor he would frequently slap his head in ritmo...notice that he is covered in tattoos...his entire body...from head to toe was covered in tattoos...even the inside of his bottom lip.

One day I found him at home in a small shack on a hillside in Casablanca...a small village across the Bahia De Habana...as most Cubans he invited me into his home and proudly stated "mi casa es su casa" made me some coffee...and sang...his home was simple...no electricity...dirt floor...open windows...I felt at home...at peace.

He sits at the feet of the Santera Saints playing his "tambor".

He passed away in 2003...truly missed.

Looking for Havana

2007-08-31T08:08:00.001-04:00

On my last trip to La Habana in January, I had the pleasure of meeting a gentleman who was the camerman for the well known movies, Fresa y Chocolate and La Vida Es Silbar. He was sharing with us stories of a new documentary titled Buscandote Havana. This documentary comments on the life and struggles of "palestinos", undocumented Cubans living in Havana. These are Cubans that come from the country looking for a better life. They make a life in Havana without the documents that allow them to legally live there. On You Tube after seeing the first part there are two additional parts of this documentary to the right.

Often they set up a home in areas close to the city, constructing with whatever they can get there hands on, i.e. wood, cardboard, sheet metal. These shantytowns, called fanguitos are similiar to the favellas in Brazil. Quite often they lack running water and electricity, without proper papers they are not entitled to medical care, education, la libreta and if caught they are sent back to their province.

This image was taken at a fanguito in San Miguel De Padron, a suburb on the outskirts of Havana. What amazed me about what I saw was the cleanliness and ingenuity of the occupants...just look at this hammock...two sticks, a sheet and some rope.

What purpose a balcony?

2007-08-30T09:16:00.000-04:00

A balcony affords us a front row seat to the theatre that is the street… a reflection of our own lives or...

Maybe a balcony gives one a rest…a sanctuary from the reality of life.

We hang clothes from a balcony, our plants…a dove/pigeon will rest there not to fear of the cat…a child will pee from that place knowing that those below cannot get to them quickly if at all.

Maybe like Juliet, One waits for their life, their love to manifest itself...

Why Black and White

2007-08-28T00:45:00.000-04:00

Often I am asked, Why Black and White?

Initially, I sought to differentiate myself from the numerous photographers photographing Cuba in colour. That B/W would be taken more seriously by the observer and not be lured by the beauty of colour. Then I thought that I would shoot in B/W until Fidel Castro dies and then go to colour. ( As in the movie The Wizard Of Oz, recall that the movie starts off in B/W until Dorothy's house lands on the wicked witche's sister in Munchkinland)

But then tonight I came across a speech by the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. A Knock At Midnight . In it Rev. King states: "At midnight colours lose their distinctiveness and become a sullen shade of grey." Read the speech and in many ways it's "medianoche" in Cuba.

Bahia De Nipe

2007-08-27T10:49:00.000-04:00

Antilla

Habana...Libertad

2007-08-25T23:13:00.000-04:00

Usually I see fishing boats named after women...maybe a mother or wife...a daughter or a lover. But this one named his "Liberty"...does the fisherman feel some sense of freedom when on his little island?

My grandfather was a fisherman...he was a courageous, strong man and had an quiet endurance in life. When we would go fishing...he knew where to go based on landmarks and looking into the water...we would always embark at dawn and by noon had a cooler full of fish...all caught with a hand line attached to a "cuban yo-yo" a round implement that is used to hold the line. I would feel the line with my finger and could feel the fish biting...once it grabbed that bait I would jerk the line...set the hook and pull the fish in. It's a good memory...

Always being watched...

2007-08-22T00:54:00.000-04:00

I am very aware as I walk throughout Cuba, that there's at least one pair of eyes on me. It's not unusual that someone will pass by and say hello and mention that they saw me in another part of town last week Friday...

Just hanging out on a corner, listening, taking in the scene and I noticed the guy on the balcony...smoking a cigarette and looking at me...he then turned his gaze elsewhere turned to enter the apartment and had to take one more look...

Back to School

2007-08-22T00:42:00.001-04:00

One night I showed my father-in-law a portfolio of my Cuba images, as he slowly and quietly looked at the photos, he stopped at this one..."what's this? Students at school with no shoes...this can't be...esperate eso es una escuela en mi pueblo! (wait this is a school in my town!) He kept shaking his head in disbelief not wanting to believe.

Mi suegro is a professor in this small town in Eastern Cuba...he still teaches but also has taken up photography as a profession shooting birthdays, Quinceneras, ID photos (carnet)...$20.00 a month wasn't enough after over 20 years teaching.

In their dreams...

2007-08-20T22:09:00.000-04:00

they are dancing on a world stage...dancing for Alicia Alonso and the Ballet Nacional De Cuba.

There is a cuban phrase..."no cuesta nada sonar"...it cost nothing to dream.

Vista De La Habana

2007-08-13T22:24:00.000-04:00

This view is fom the Casablanca area...

I try to include an individual in all my images. Often I will find my view and then wait till the moment is right.

The Ruins of Havana

2007-08-11T10:58:00.000-04:00

It is impossible to ignore the dangerously undermaintained shape of a serious number of La Habana's buildings ― many of which collapse or become uninhabitable and unusable each year.

Theodore Dalrymple’s essay Why Havana Had to Die addresses this more depressing view rather eloquently. Dalrymple writes of ‘the Ruins of Havana’ and bluntly reminds us that, “Forty-three years of totalitarian dictatorship have left the city of Havana ― one of the most beautiful in the world ― suspended in a peculiar state halfway between preservation and destruction.” This is a great read!

"Is it still worth $1,000.00?

2007-08-10T01:40:00.000-04:00

I walked through a door that led to a large patio with the doors to many apartments...toward the far corner I noticed a woman preparing what appeared to be pineapple juice...I asked if she was selling the juice and she invited me to have a seat in her living room. I asked where the other rooms to her home were, just seeing a room and she looked up and told me that their was an upstairs...a barbacoa...a loft crudely built above where I was sitting. I asked if I could see and I was told to take a look. I climbed a very narrow staircase and was now in her and her daughter's bedroom...two beds separated by a very old amoire. "I have something to show you but you must promise not to say mention this to anyone" I agreed..she asked that I turn around and I heard her rummaging..."you can turn now" what she had in front of me was an United States Thousand dollar bill, President Grover Cleveland...minted in 1934..."is it still worth $1000.00" I looked at it and stated that if it was a real bill that it was and to a collector maybe worth even more. She offered it to me for $800.00 explaining that she wanted her daughter to have a "quince". I politely stated that I could not be sure that it was real and why not take it to the "bank". I asked to photograph the bill...I went back a month later interested in purchasing the bill...

She sold it to the government and received $750.00...their take was 25%. It was real after all...

Today it was 90 degrees in Cuba

2007-08-10T01:30:00.000-04:00

Children and their ability to find a positive in most any situation amaze me.

La Iglesia De La Merced

2007-08-05T09:53:00.000-04:00

Across Cuba this is what you will see in many churches this morning.

"Iglesia De La Merced" La Habana

Until the middle of the 20th century, this was one of the most ornate churches in the whole city. Its origins date back to 1637, the year in which the so-called, “Monks of Mercy” began to build their convent, a task that would carry on for the next hundred years. It was then left to the Pauline Fathers to put the final touches to the interior decoration, completed in 1867. Esteban Chartrand painted the walls and backdrop of the Lourdes Chapel, and other painting work was carried out by Pidier Petit, Juan Crossa, Manuel Lorenzo and Aurelio Melero. On September 24th, known as the "Day of Mercies", both Catholics and followers of the Afro-Cuban cult, “Santeros” gather in the church, many dressed in white, and pay tribute to the deity Obbatalá.

Mami...vamos al "cine"

2007-08-04T23:55:00.000-04:00

It's Saturday night...what to do in downtown Cienfuegos but catch the latest Cantinflas movie..."Los Tres Mosqueteros" at the drive-in...by the way most were driving "Flying Pigeon" bicycles, a few Ladas and I think there was the obligatory "Chevrolet". This image was taken in 1996...it was about 9pm...I was driving back from Trinidad...oh yes...this movie premiered in ...

1942!

Chiclet...chiclet!

2007-08-02T23:49:00.000-04:00

I have been travelling to Cuba since 1996...those early years I always would take lots of chewing gum. I was always asked by children for Chiclet...

I was in the area of La Habana near the Cuatro Caminos market...these boys had been playing but once they saw me coming they immediately asked for some and I stated that if they allowed me to take a photo of them that they would get their gum...

I could not have posed these kids this well if I had tried...and I didn't...this is exactly what they gave me ...naturally...each child is an image unto itself!

After about 1998, the kids stopped asking for chiclet...they asked for 'moneda'.

What would make a mature woman...

2007-08-02T23:21:00.000-04:00

dance in the street in front of an outdoor cafe...wearing what appears to be a bedspread with gladiolas and a palm leaf placed in her cleavage.

Many visitors to Cuba quite often comment that the "Cubans" are so warm and friendly...that they are always laughing...a salsa step just 'un ritmo' away. The Cuban spirit is warm, loving and beaten. Most tourists may not realize that they are looked upon as a way to learn a little of life outside of Cuba, enjoy a meal, be given a few dollars, a book already read gifted.

This woman was making a fool of herself...appeared to have been drinking and was being encouraged by the the tourists with clapping and laughter and a few dollars. Why can't they see the struggle behind the smile ...the difficulties facing her everyday...???

I often wonder...

2007-08-01T09:10:00.000-04:00

When I see an elderly person in Cuba...what was their life like before Castro...how did it change with the "revolution" and if they think the sacrifice was worth it?

Una Sola Opcion...

2007-08-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

Only One Option Fatherland . Revolution . Socialism

There are always options...but at what price...loss of job...prison...harassment of family...

Day to day...

2007-07-30T09:46:00.000-04:00

Cubans concern themselves with what to eat, where to get the food and how to pay for it. Each family gets a "libreta" --a ration book that allows each family a certain amount of items i.e. rice, beans, coffee, sugar...the libreta amount of food and staples tends to last an average of 10 days. So what does one do for the other 20 days?

A percentage of the population have $$ coming on from family abroad...but a greater percentage don't have that luxury and survive in a variety of ways. Some will steal items from their jobs to sell later...quite often I as a foreigner will encounter someone trying to sell me cigars...those cigars are usually taken by one working in a cigar factory...or they take pieces of tobacco and assemble them at home...one may sell eggs at work and take one or two a day and this will feed their child breakfast on a regular basis.

Due to the aging water system, old plumbing in old buildings, many places don't have a consistent source of clean water...enterprising young men will take a 55 gallon drum..attach wheels to it and sell water in a neighborhood...of course for a couple of dollars. Then there are those that will sell their bodies to make ends meet...Cubans will find a way to make ends meet.

These women were standing in line one day outside of a store...but it's their mirrored stance one unaware of the other patiently waiting to ... wait.

As one fades away another...

2007-07-29T01:15:00.000-04:00

Don't complain about doing the laundry...

2007-07-28T18:30:00.000-04:00

There is a patio just outside the door to the very well known paladar in La Habana called "La Guarida" that has a wonderful view and one day after lunch...I looked down...

In a small round tin pot is a bar of soap...not sure what it is made of but it's very hard...on the right side of this image are two 50 gallon drums that hold water. Running water in La Habana is a rarity. I bet a manicurist does very well here...

Volveran...

2007-07-25T07:38:00.001-04:00

Sometimes color gets the best of me and this image is all about color...and the word Volveran...this word meaning "return" refers to the 5 "heroes" or "spies" depending on your point of view that are in prison here in the States for spying.

What grabbed me about this moment was the color of the bowl that she is carrying in relation to the color on the metal gate...

Shoes and a shine...

2007-07-25T07:31:00.000-04:00

Shoes we would normally toss or give to Goodwill are repaired/refurbished and sold to walk the streets of La Habana again. Cubans are meticulous dressers and very clean...their appearance is of the utmost importance and it's rare to see a shirt unpressed or a pair of dirty shoes.

The Marvel

2007-07-25T07:23:00.000-04:00

Nine years ago I stood in front of this building in Habana Vieja... first the sign caught my eye and then observing the balcony, I noticed the old lady swaying in the window back and forth with the baby in her arms. She was aware that I was shooting and started to fix her hair as if prepping for a portrait. I kept waiting for both child and woman to be in a position to capture both...remember they were swaying. I wonder is she still alive today...the child fast approaching his tenth birthday...

Gracias Amelia

2007-07-22T11:39:00.000-04:00

In the Cementario Colon in La Habana is a very popular grave of La Milagrosa (The Miraculous One). The story goes that when Amelia Goyri de la Hoz died in childbirth in 1901, she was buried with her stillborn daughter placed at her feet. When the tomb was opened a few years later, the baby was found in her arms. Amelia is now considered the protector of pregnant women and newborn children. Pilgrims paying homage must not turn their backs to the tomb upon leaving.

Surrounding the grave are many small "notes" on wood and marble...this one says it all:

"Thank You Amelia, For taking my children Osiel and Rosemary from this country"

Conversations with my wife...

2007-07-22T10:45:00.000-04:00

My wife returned the other day from Cuba...today we began the conversations that we cannot have over the phone for concern that all conversations are listened to.

Being pregnant, she arranged to buy milk...not in the store...but from the source, a farmer with a cow, at the risk of losing the cow. He's required to sell the milk to the "state" who in turn sells it to the people...in the past children seven and under were entitled to milk but even in the store there is no milk...at least in the Holguin Province of Cuba.

In the city of Holguin, the farmer's market that was near the stadium has closed...it's said that due to the higher taxes the State tried to impose on the farmer...they have gone with "el mercado negro" selling produce on the black market. The more the State tries to impose in the business and tax the farmers...the bigger the black market becomes.

This image was taken in La Habana at the mercado "Cuatro Caminos" I chose this image because in conversation...onions that were selling for a small bag of maybe 5-6 for 3 pesos are now selling for 3 pesos for one.

How does this system maintain food for 11 million people? Imaginate...

Patria o Muerte

2007-07-17T00:12:00.000-04:00

NO SURRENDER

NO DEFEAT

FATHERLAND OR DEATH

El Caballero de los Platanos

2007-07-16T23:58:00.000-04:00

Color or B/W? In 11 years of shooting in Cuba it has only been B/W...but I had trouble attaining the film that I had always used on these trips. So I decided to shoot digitally knowing that with a RAW 12mb file I could get great B/W out of it. So here's both versions...what do you think?

The Innocence

2007-07-15T17:32:00.000-04:00

Children always amaze me with their vision, honesty, ability to adapt and improvise. I have seen spinning "tops", kickboards made with wood and skate wheels, baseball played with the leg of a chair and a ball made of "I'm not sure" There are no toy stores in Cuba...at least nothing accesible and available to the average Cuban. So as I stroll through Cuba, I see kids everywhere playing, going to school, just being kids.

This photograph was taken on my usual walk along the "Malecon" (the fabled stretch of road that curves along the coast in La Habana) It's like they were just waiting there with this painting in the background. But what really captures my thoughts is the children represent a cross section of race in Cuban society.

"El manisero" The Peanut Vendor

2007-07-15T17:13:00.001-04:00

Maní, maní, maní…
Si te quieres por el pico divertir,
Cómprame un cucuruchito de maní.
El manisero se va, el manisero se va.
Me voy, te digo que me voy…

The arrangement of El Manisero by a Jewish emigrant to Cuba, Moisés Simmons [1] was recorded by a popular Cuban singer Rita Montaner in Havana in 1928. In 1930 the adaptation of Montaner’s version was recorded in New York by Don Azpiazu and his Havana Casino orchestra, sung by Antonio Machín [2]. It was featured in the Hollywood film The Cuban Love Song (1931) and quickly picked by a dozen other orchestras in the United States and Europe. The song was a top hit on the record in 1931. (Compilments of Wikipedia)

This image was taken in Holguin, a city located in Eastern Cuba. The metal box in front of him keeps the peanuts, wrapped in paper shaped like a cone, warm. There's a smaller circular container below the main box. This is the source of the heat. He just sat there and allowed me to photograph him...I bought several of these and they are quite good...especially the last one that always seems to get stuck on the very bottom of the cone.

Happy July 4th!

2007-07-04T16:05:00.001-04:00

After two days in a Cuban jail...one strip search…and 4 separate interrogations (more later) it’s a very good July 4th…value your freedom and pray for those in the world that are not free!

Happy Anniversary?

2007-07-04T14:59:00.000-04:00

If I were to visit this produce market today it would not look like this.

This market existed in Barrio Chino in Central Havana. Quietly I entered this market, camera by my side, just observing, sensing the image. I love faces, and in all the books in regards to Cuba…I see faces but there of a happy people holding a lobster, sunning at the beach, just living in a paradise that in all reality does not exist for the Cuban people.

I have no idea how many pesos she had on her but I sense that she was trying to stretch them to buy what would feed her family the longest. Her shirt…St.Tropez…Montecarlo... places she’ll never experience…purchased at a government store selling donated clothing meant to be given to the Cubans.

The sign in the background used repeatedly with each anniversary of the “revolution” erased and written in with the appropriate number…like a beaten wife that contemplates the day it will all end…stills say: I love you...

Oh...the market still exist...newer stalls made of metal...and higher taxes.

Ojitos inocente

2007-07-01T11:46:00.000-04:00

As is my custom, I walk the streets of La Habana slowly, looking forward, back...up and down. One day I entered an apartment building observing, listening quietly. I climbed the center stairs and this is what I saw...innocent eyes...I got one shot off and she was gone. I could hear her crying and next thing she pops out on the hip of her madre...

Vamos a jugar domino!

2007-07-01T10:53:00.000-04:00

Walk the streets of Cuba late in the afternoon and you will eventually run into a game of dominoes. So many times I would encounter a game, document the experience and be disappointed with the results...but with this image I knew that it captured the game that I had so many times witnessed.

Walking in Regla, a town across the bay from La Habana, I came across another "juego" and lamented in my head the perfect image that would express the game. A little voice inside my head told me to look up and there was this little "viejita" looking down on the game and me. I expressed an interest to see the game from her balcony and she invited me up.

What you see is what I saw...un juego de domino!

An island…

2007-07-01T01:46:00.001-04:00

This image so represents Cuba to me. The rowboat is surrounded by water…there is but one fish in the front and it’s a kingfish(Fidel)…in the back of the boat are many small fish (the Cuban people)…the men fishing are looking back towards the light(the promise of what the Revolution meant to so many Cubans in 1959)…the past… as they drift into the darkness ( the disillusion of what is) and an unknown future.

Ofelia is Cuba!

2007-07-01T01:00:00.000-04:00

I see pride, dignity and perseverance in spite of the difficulties of living in Cuba.

Ofelia gets up every morning, dresses, has her café cubano and some bread. As she leaves her home, a wooden shack on the rooftop of a six story walkup, she locks her door with a chain and padlock and walks down the steps to the street. On her way to either Cathedral Square or Plaza de Armas, she will secure a flower to decorate her headdress.

When I met Ofelia she was sitting outside of La Bodeguita del Medio on Calle Empedrado. This is one of the most famous Cuban restaurants in the world. In this tiny space, with hardly enough room to move, the walls are covered with the signatures of luminaries like Nat King Cole, Brigitte Bardot and Errol Flynn, just to name a few.

As I attempted to photograph her, her fingered wagged in front of her face and declared “take picture…one dollar” I agreed and took several images to which she commented “one picture…one dollar”. I had to laugh and gave her a dollar. This picture was taken in July of 1996, I visited her this past January 2007, she was getting ready for the cameras…

* A side note: In my many conversations with her…she would often preface her statement with the word “imaginate” translated “imagine it”. This always stuck with me as I tried to “imagine” what life was like, how the Cuban people managed to “resolver’ their day to day issues.