Everything gets...repaired

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

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

Taken at the corner of Neptuno and Galiano...

Pinar Del Rio-Train Station

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

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...

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"

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

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

I am not sure what...

looks worse for wear the bench or the human being?

Dance Recital on the Prado de La Habana

So much hope, joy and possibilties...

Train Station in Guines

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...

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

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!

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

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...

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

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...

"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