Beauty in Cuba

Before October 2018, I really had no desire to go to Cuba. Never been there, didn’t know much about it, and never thought about it. That was then. My friend and mentor Bill Woody suggested we go to Cuba and shoot ballet dancers. What? So, by March 2019, I’m flying to Havana to shoot 16 dancers from the Cuban National Ballet, who are the best in the world I’m told, and we’d probably get to shoot them in some exotic places. So, it starts.

This is a Story about that photo journey to Cuba that turned into so much more. Everybody who goes to Cuba has their own Impression of it, and I am no different. As I got to know Cuba, I found it to be a total contrast, between the Old and the New, between Capitalism and Communism, the wealthy and the poor, it defied everything that made sense...
My goal is to tell the story with photos and some supporting words, I hope it makes sense…But then, why would it?
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  • Havana at night...

    Havana at night...

    This was a Friday night in Havana. It seemed alive and vibrant, from a distance it could have been a city anywhere. This is looking off our the balcony of our "apartment" on the 14th floor toward the Capitol and Old Havana. I got to know Havana pretty well, but just barely in my week there.

  • In the Habana Riviera

    In the Habana Riviera

    I walked over to this old hotel called “The Habana Riviera”, along the Malecon, and it was right out of the Twilight Zone. This old hotel setting, seemed a set from a 1950’s James Bond movie, with these 2 beautiful women playing music for seemingly nobody. The bartender stands ready at the bar, but nothing happens, and life in Cuba just continues to go on...

  • Cuban Wedding...

    Cuban Wedding...

    Right across the street from the pick-up football game, a couple gets married....

  • Look at the stark contrast between the beautiful antiques and the conditions of the walls

    Look at the stark contrast between the beautiful antiques and the conditions of the walls

  • Claudia....

    Claudia....

  • A day in the life of Cuba...

    A day in the life of Cuba...

  • Untitled photo
  • Another,  Day in the Life of Cuba....

    Another, Day in the Life of Cuba....

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  • Playing with the shadows on the walls in Ramses studio...

    Playing with the shadows on the walls in Ramses studio...

  • Along the Malecon

    Along the Malecon

    The Malecon is a broad roadway and Seawall that stretches 5 miles along the cost of Havana. When conditions are right, the wind pushes the sea in the right direction, so that it breaks over the wall and on to the road in a spectacular way. Those were the conditions on my first walk along the Malecon.

  • Discipline and Talent in Cuba....

    Discipline and Talent in Cuba....

    I would learn that, as with the Dancers yet to come, the discipline and the talent in these obscure places in Cuba was out of the world.

  • Josie's mansion

    Josie's mansion

    Josie's Mansion was the first of many contradictions and mysteries in Cuba. Josie was an elegant, older lady who lived in this immaculate but crumbling stucco mansion. It was filled with what we would call antiques, but there, this is how life still works.

  • The Library...

    The Library...

    Nothing in this library says anything but 1955....

  • What can you say....

    What can you say....

  • And the Cars...Always the Cars....

    And the Cars...Always the Cars....

  • Carla...

    Carla...

  • The Land opens up in Back

    The Land opens up in Back

  • Sunset on the Malecon

    Sunset on the Malecon

    One day after a shoot, I was getting back to the apartment and I saw the sun setting like a fireball over the water. I’m convinced that places like this, Key West and Malibu CA., life stops for a minute when the sun set so everybody can watch it.

  • The Alicia Alonzo Grand Theater, the Grand Staircase.

    The Alicia Alonzo Grand Theater, the Grand Staircase.

    In the middle of Old Havana, on the Prado and next to El Capitolio (the Capitol of Cuba) sits the Grand Theatre. With its polished marble and gold, the people of Cuba are so proud of their Theatre and their Ballet, even though it stands in contrast to much of its surroundings.

  • Along the Malacon...

    Along the Malacon...

    Mixed with the showcase of old automobiles, its quite the show....

  • In front of the Habana Riviera

    In front of the Habana Riviera

    I just took it all in, like with a group of men outside I imagined were plotting a deal, it was all just surrealistic. As I left this Twilight world of monotones, I could almost hear Rod Sterling in the background saying "Something strange had just happened here"...

  • Josie, her close friend and Claudia

    Josie, her close friend and Claudia

    We spent all morning with Josie and her good friend and helper whose name I don’t know. Ines and Claudia were our first 2 dancers, Stoic and disciplined, they did not speak English but were as graceful as I’d ever seen.

  • Discipline and Fluid Movements....

    Discipline and Fluid Movements....

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  • The Plantation

    The Plantation

    At least an hour out of Havana, were to the ruins of the Coffee Plantation of Antiguo Cafetal Angerona. The woods, fields and roads were quietly alive with people, hitch-hiking or moving quietly about their business. The place was old, and only the stone remnants of the structures remained. Brenda and Carla, both Cuban dancers took the long ride out with our team, and again, no English, but I would find that with all the dancers.

  • It was rumored that the owner of this plantation, Souchay Cornelius, who died in1837, had a forbidden relationship with one of the slaves. He built a small house for her next to his mansion, and he allowed his slaves on this plantation to make money, have a market on site and have families. The slaves were treated different on this plantation than any others on the island, they could make money and it largely was a self-sufficient village that had up to 450 slaves/residents at 1 point.

    It was rumored that the owner of this plantation, Souchay Cornelius, who died in1837, had a forbidden relationship with one of the slaves. He built a small house for her next to his mansion, and he allowed his slaves on this plantation to make money, have a market on site and have families. The slaves were treated different on this plantation than any others on the island, they could make money and it largely was a self-sufficient village that had up to 450 slaves/residents at 1 point.

  • Walking down to the ruins of the old slave quarters...

    Walking down to the ruins of the old slave quarters...

  • Ramses Studio

    Ramses Studio

    Deep in the middle of Old Havana, Ramses hosted us for dinner one night at his studio. It was in an old building that he had purchased and restored in a style that’s hard to describe. The dinner was catered and he gave us a presentation on work his foundation does with youth in Cuba, like mentoring, teaching art and photography as well as disaster relief. As with everything I saw and learned in Cuba, there is so much more than meets the eye.

  • In the Grand Theater....

    In the Grand Theater....

    Its still unclear to me how we got the opportunity to get shoot inside of this place when it was empty....

  • The constant contrast between old and new....

    The constant contrast between old and new....

  • The Contrast, the colors and the Street Scenes....

    The Contrast, the colors and the Street Scenes....

    Then I walked through a nearby neighborhood full of sunlight, color and life. Lime Greens, muted purples and bright pinks, people on their way, kids playing soccer and people getting married. This was Friday afternoon in Havana.

  • Ines

    Ines

    One of 2 of my favorite shots, this and Claudia in the same place (Next photo)

  • Spiral Staircase in the Kitchen...

    Spiral Staircase in the Kitchen...

  • Ramses, Josie's Friend and Josie

    Ramses, Josie's Friend and Josie

    Ramses Batista is one of Cuba's premiere Photographers

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  • Untitled photo
  • The Slave quarters in the Back.

    The Slave quarters in the Back.

    These were massive underground rooms. I did not venture into any of them, and all we knew was these were the homes of the slaves back in the day.

  • Ramses invited our whole team, as well as some of his students, and a few others who I believe were fine art collectors....

    Ramses invited our whole team, as well as some of his students, and a few others who I believe were fine art collectors....

  • The Innovation of Cuba...

    The Innovation of Cuba...

    You notice the cars right away, and again the old and new. These cars are many people's primary transportation (if they have any at all), and they love them. Cuba I think has the most innovative and imaginative people in the world to keep these old things running and looking good.

  • Football in Cuba

    Football in Cuba

    As I walked deep into the neighborhoods, you see how vibrant life is, despite the conditions. These kids are not laying down to life...

  • Claudia

    Claudia

    Second of 2 of my favorite shots....

  • The Grand Staircase....

    The Grand Staircase....

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  • Brenda...

    Brenda...

    They stylishly jumped and leaped from anywhere, always landing delicately, but perfect.

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  • Carla in front of one of the slave quarter entrances...

    Carla in front of one of the slave quarter entrances...

  • Ramses work...

    Ramses work...

    Ramses had a lot of his work hanging in his studio. Here kids run in the streets of Old Havana when Hurricane Irma hits Cuba in 2017...

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    Josie, her close friend and Claudia
    Ines
    Claudia