CUBA IN LIVING COLOR
Cuba is the jewel of the Caribbean, the largest island in the sea. First inhabited by tribes of indigenous peoples from the Americas, Cuba was claimed by Christopher Columbus for the Spanish crown in 1492. In the following centuries, Spanish colonization brought European tastes and sensibilities to the New World. Thousands of black slaves imported from Africa carried with them, and have preserved ever since, deep roots in their tribal traditions, beliefs, music, and dance. Immigrants from other European nations and North America contributed to the businesses of sugar, rum, and, in the 20th century, entertainment, fashion, and the high life. Jews and others from the Ottoman Empire added their own unique customs to the mix. This resulted in the truly colorful conglomeration of peoples, cultures, languages, religious practices, costumes, and cuisine that is Cuba today.
STREET URCHIN AND CLASSIC CAR HAVANA CUBA
We visited Havana in December 2018 where, through personal connections, we had the special opportunity to walk the backstreets of the city and also connect with individuals in their homes and places of work, worship, and recreation. These photographs go beyond the random street scene or sneaky snap with a long lens and reveal instead more emotive portraits of the people we met for a moment, an hour, or an evening. We were struck by the diversity of character and story, each individual a rich palimpsest of personal and cultural history, by what distinguished them and what united them. In each there is a clear sense of personal identity and integrity; pride in accomplishment and effort despite sometimes grueling challenges of low income, inadequate resources, poor infrastructure, and political barriers imposed from within and without the national borders.
Ruth speaks enough Spanish for easy conversation. Many Habaneros know some English and Albert’s champion smile and style won over his portrait subjects. In some cases we were accompanied by friends who acted as translators.
CIGAR SMOKER CENTRAL HAVANA HAVANA CUBA
SANTERIA PRIEST WITH BATEA STICK OLD HAVANA HAVANA CUBA
BANANA VENDOR CENTRAL HAVANA HAVANA CUBA
CUBAN AMATEUR BOXER OLD HAVANA HAVANA CUBA
On the streets of old Havana we met a young banana seller trying to make a go of his fruit stand business. Here a passerby poses languidly, cigarette dangling, in front of the closed door to a house in her neighborhood. Once the door opened, we were welcomed in to find an expansive building whose roof had been blown away by a hurricane several years earlier; life inside and out continued. Cubans excel at both dance and sports, marrying fierce athleticism with elegance and grace. At a rehearsal of an Afro-Cuban modern dance company we felt the beat of the drums and snapped away to the rhythms of the swirling skirts. Boxers working out in a neighborhood gym embodied strength and determination. Here is a gent decidedly enjoying the privilege of a hand-rolled Cuban cigar. This priest of Santeria, a pantheistic spiritual cult that combines beliefs and customs of the Yoruba people with an overlay of Spanish Catholic elements, regaled us with stories of magical deeds and miracle cures. He is known as a healer. In his home he holds his powerful bate a stick, and is adorned with multicolored beads signifying the Orishas or Saints with whom he is in contact. The ubiquitous antique cars are most often used as taxis; here, one is parked on a backstreet lovingly caressed by a young lad. Havana’s Jewish community, present on the island for over a century, was nearly extinguished after the 1959 revolution, but is once again flourishing. These three boys are excited to be attending a Jewish wedding celebration – like kids everywhere, frolicking before the adults arrive.
Kids at Jewish Wedding.
STREET SCENE CENTRAL HAVANA HAVANA CUBA
Cubans are fundamentally accepting of one another’s complex and mixed pasts, their shared ancestry and co-mingled communities. We were delighted by the vibrant and vivacious quality of life in the saturated sublime colors of Cuba.