Bueno Dia Companero...

"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?

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...

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

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...

"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

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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...

doesn't mask the reality of Cuba...

Home Depot in La Habana

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...

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

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?

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

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

Antilla

Habana...Libertad

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...