Cuba, 90 miles from the USA was a very foreign place for Americans in the 1980s. The US and Cuban governments were polarized, poised on opposite sides of the Cold War. But to a visiting photographer from the USA the people could not have been more welcoming, kind, and genuinely happy to share time and space.
The sounds, the aromas, and the languid yet very physical energy always present opened my eyes to a world I would grow to appreciate more with every passing hour.
I went there to cover sport, and to do an essay on the political ramifications of the Cuban Revolution on the Caribbean basin. I did that work, and it was well published, but the images I really enjoy are those of the people. That’s what I am showing here.
Old Havana.
Young Boxers.
Street scene.
Cuban soldier.
City taxi.
Glasses.
Malecon.
Cigar fan.
Laundry.
Car door.
Havana Beach.
Porch light.
Havana Bus.
Father, daughter.
Blue Light.
Baseball, everywhere.
Cars galore.
Santiago Carnival.
Cigar factory.
Grandson, Grandfather.
Baseball.
Capiatolo.
Family time.
Color phone.
Family Cycle.
Che.
First time polaroid.
Fisherman.
Grocer.
Havana.
Malecon Fisherman.
Neighborhood pride.
Neighborhood Watch.
Tie Binh.
Malecon Dance.
Motorscooter meeting.
Potatoes.
Santiago Celebration.
Skater.
Cuba. !980’s. Fidel Castro has been in power since late 1959. The Cuban Revolution in the 1080s was struggling financially, dependent on trade with the Soviet Union. Cuba’s economy is dominated by the exports of sugar, tobacco, coffee and skilled labor.
On the farm.
Street Repair.
Town to town.
Wet Plate.
Ingenuity.
Malecon.