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The sight of these two flags together brought me to tears…and with a cracking voice asked to photograph the flags in this stranger’s pocket…Thank you….
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The ebullient and frenetic chaos of travel….My first view of Cuba al fresco is seen here exiting the Jose Marti Airport, Havana following a 4-hour processing delay. The arival of two tourist flights at the same time created this havoc makes me wonder if Cuba ready for mass tourism…
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Yes, there are retro autos here in Cuba… but Cuba is so much more! Here at the Plaza de las Revolucion in Havana martyred hero Camilo Cienfuegos is emblazoned on a government building and the oldie auto taxis line up for the tourists.
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I found the people in Cuba to be warm and friendly. Hurrying down a narrow crumbling sidewalk in Holguin and struggling to keep up with my small group, I was drawn to this innocent greeting of welcome. It wasn’t until I studied the photo in my computer that I knew there was a greater story to tell…that of the patina…the texture and tonality of life…resilience and grace.
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The lush and fertile Viñales Valley preserves and protects the rich heritage of the arts in Cuba. Their indomitable spirit of creativity and pride thrives here despite the poverty.
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The Melia Habana Hotel, located in the elegant Miramar section of Havana is in conveniently located near the Jose Marti International Airport. This hotel was far more luxurious and cosmopolitan than what I thought it would be…and just one of the many discoveries made during my journey.
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From my first sighting inside Cuba, this land shrouded by mystery and harsh rhetoric, stunned me with its flood of color and purity of natural light.
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Spending many hours each day photographing through the window of our moving bus, I worked to avoid glare and reflections but then became intrigued by the overlaping of colors and shapes. With my camera I was creating cut-paper collages. This image was the seed that germinated into The Motorcoach Diaries.
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I was surprised to see tall buildings in good repair as well as an assortment of small new autos…and yes, there were lots of crumbling buldings too…but Havana could be any contemporary South American city.
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The patina of crumbles…color and texture…deterioration, status quo, rebuilding but underneath it was a feeling of calm. No one is homeless and everyone has health care.
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With the exposed rafters to the universe this vacant lot was a cathedral of sorts to my mind’s eye. The horizontal and vertical composition reminded me of Mondrian’s Broadway Boogie Woogie city painting grids and I had a field day composing creative riffs.
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With the exposed rafters to the universe this vacant lot was a cathedral of sorts to my mind’s eye. The horizontal and vertical composition reminded me of Mondrian’s Broadway Boogie Woogie city painting grids and I had a field day composing creative riffs.
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With the exposed rafters to the universe this vacant lot was a cathedral of sorts to my mind’s eye. The horizontal and vertical composition reminded me of Mondrian’s Broadway Boogie Woogie city painting grids and I had a field day composing creative riffs.
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The sculptures and monuments are exquisite and extraordinary and I found it most interesting that people of all faiths are interred here. Symbolic and serene…
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In the neighborhood of the Museum of the Revolution, this scene could be taken for any South American city today.
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Cuban is proud of their public school education as well as their universal health care…I was surprised to see the vast number of modern automolbiles and busses…and of course a yellow taxi cab!
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An articulated bus like those in Manhattan as well as an auto relic and a newer model…but not much traffic on this thoroughfare because fast and reliable automotive transportation in Cuba is lacking. Hitchhiking is the dependable mode of travel because of the scarcity of privately owned autos and too few public busses. On the positive side little auto pollution helps to keep the air clear…and the clarity was dazzling. You have to see it to believe it.
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It was always an interesting contrast to see the roadways shared by modern and primitive modes of transport throughout Cuba. Yutong, a Chinese motocoach manufacturing company has been blazing the much-needed transportation wave in Cuba since 2005 and our Cuban driver skillfully navigated our luxury vehicle with ease and safety.
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It was always an interesting contrast to see the roadways shared by modern and primitive modes of transport throughout Cuba. You can be certain that a Yutong bus is around the corner.
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The Pinar del Río valley is the rich fertile soil agriculture center and the area is best known for its production of tobacco. Here are rows of tobacco on the way to become Cuban cigars.
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The Pinar del Río valley is the rich fertile soil agriculture center and while there is some livestock raised here, the area is best known for its production of tobacco. Traditional farming methods are still practiced here and perhaps that is why Cuban cigars are so coveted.
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Most people work and travel with horse or donkey-drawn carts. The Pinar del Río valley is the rich fertile soil agriculture center and while there is some livestock raised here, the area is best known for its production of tobacco. Traditional farming methods are still practiced here and perhaps that is why Cuban cigars are so coveted.
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The Pinar del Río valley is the rich fertile soil agriculture center and the area is best known for its production of tobacco. Here are rows of tobacco on the way to become Cuban cigars.
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The Pinar del Río valley is the rich fertile soil agriculture center and the area is best known for its production of tobacco. Here are rows of tobacco on the way to become Cuban cigars.
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The colorful laundry of a tobacco farmer’s family hangs against the clear sky and landscape of the Viñales Valley. This fragile living landscape is endangered by the threat/promise of tourism.
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We visited a tobacco farmer’s home and this is his kitchen.
The Viñales Valley is surrounded by an outstanding karst landscape that has already drawn tourists who are into rock climbing. While this fragile living landscape has survived unchanged for centuries, it is endangered by the threat/promise of tourism today. I hope that Cuba has the wisdom to develop a plan to preserve its uniqueness, as progress can be a double-edged sword.
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No, this is not a motel. In 1997 the Cuban government allowed Cuban families the opportunity to rent rooms in their homes to tourists to earn extra income and these accommodations are like homestays or B&Bs. The potential influx of tourists is giving rise to casa particulares popping up everywhere.
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Finca Agroecologica El Paraiso Viñales In Pinar del Río Province is an organic farm /restaurant that provides a delectable visual and tasty banquet…a most delicious dining experience and I would love them to create a cookbook so I could try to replicate their cuisine.
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Finca Agroecologica El Paraiso Viñales In Pinar del Río Province is an organic farm framed by mogotes, the karst mountain landscape in background. This was the most unforgetable dining experince during my stay and I would love Finca Agroecologica El Paraiso to create a cookbook so I could try to replicate their cuisine. In many ways Cuba is functioning with old traditions but here this organnic farm and eaterie is way up there in comtemporary cuisine.
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Finca Agroecologica El Paraiso Viñales In Pinar del Río Province is an organic farm framed by mogotes, the karst mountain landscape in the background. This was the most unforgetable dining experince during my stay and I would love Finca Agroecologica El Paraiso to create a cookbook so I could try to replicate their cuisine. In many ways Cuba is functioning with old traditions but here this organnic farm and eaterie is way up there in the current trend of organic natural cuisine.
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The retro look of the 1950’s is evident in this stage-set…but the next image portrays a real working paladar.
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Elevators are a rarity in Cuba and we climbed four stories to eat in this rooftop paladar where the cooks let me photograph them as they prepared our lunch.
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This rooftop paladar provided a glorious view. Fresh water is a scarce resource and cisterns to collect rainwater are as iconic a part of the landscape as is laundry hanging out to dry.
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I read somewhere that the Cuban government pretends to pay and Cuban people pretend to work…my eyes respond to color but I can’t help but wonder what thoughts might be going through the mind of this trio….
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..and here I wonder if these boys are in training for adulthood? The innocence of sitting on a stoop is universal. One boy is flying a kite and another is focused on his cell phone while the others just hang…
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There is intrinsic beauty in the crumbling architecture. The people are poor but not homeless. The arts are alive and vibrant and music is everywhere. Cuban people are resilient and resourceful and proud of their universal health care and free public education for all. Technology and tourism are bound to set the stage for change.
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Like the 1950’s autos here is the Havana that most people expect…until they see it. Too long locked up behind forbidden doors and heated rhetoric…yet known and visited by the rest of the world…I spent 11 days in Cuba on a People-to-People educational exchange program. Cuba is an amazing anachronism and amalgam of cultures, eras and ethnicities. I was captivated by the colors, the verve, the creative energy and human ingenuity and resilience of the people. Image files spilled into my computer upon my reurn and I am still daunted by the myth and mystery of this island nation so geographically close and so not understood. Perhaps this portfolio and future exhibitions will shed light.
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This image, I believe, symbolically captures Cuba on the brink today. While the Casa del Mayorazgo de Recio is believed to be Havana’s oldest surviving house, there is a lot of confusing information about it. I did not go inside but photographed the street scene that happened to include it with the Cuban woman dressed for the tourists and a group of tourists in the background. Well…there is a lot of confusing material on Cuba out there and while tourists have been visiting Cuba for decades travel, for Americans, it is a new adventure…eye-opening and mind-broadening.
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The color and fluidity makes Old Havana pulsate with vitality yet retain its patina of history and antiquity. Viva Cuba…here’s to your future.
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Nearing the end of the trip I thought it would be appropriate to immortalized my decent from the motorcoach…and yes while the temperatures in Cuba were warm, the airconditioning on the bus was so cool that I needed to wear my fleece. Except for the sun-hat one would never have thought I left New York…but I did and discovered pure air and sunshine and a warm and gracious people who have the refreshing capacity to separate people from politics.
