When Time Stands Still
Arriving in Cuba is an experience of being simultaneously transported across multiple centuries. Here, where communism meets hints of socialism, progress beyond the 1980s seems to have stopped – creating one of the most surreal places on Earth. For a photographer, it’s paradise.
A Visual Feast
Vintage Cadillacs and Chevrolets cruise past colonial architecture in various stages of decay and restoration. Revolutionary history and vibrancy are everywhere. On a daily basis we are reminded of the Cuban missile crisis, that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war, in the form of propaganda laden movies often featuring strangely dubbed characters called Bob and Bill. But it’s the proud people stories that captured my attention the most.
The Soul of Cuba
African, European and American influences fuse into an ‘always be salsa dancing’ culture, from sunrise to midnight. While tourism drives the economy – where tour guides earn more than doctors – it’s the famous Cuban tobacconists who tell the story of this place.
In Trinidad, I witnessed one particularly enthusiastic gentleman offering his wide variety of cigars, from Montecristos to Cohibas, to passing tourists. In a quiet moment, he sat in the shade when a police officer approached. What unfolded was almost tender – a shared greeting, a gentle hand on the shoulder, followed by the tobacconist drawing deeply on his Romeo y Julieta. As he looked over at me, his gentle smile disappeared momentarily behind swirling smoke tendrils.
Connection in Restriction
These moments of connection were everywhere. In a country where freedom of expression and access to the outside world is heavily restricted, I found myself having the most refreshingly honest and friendly conversations with locals. Their passion about their country’s challenges is matched only by their ingenuity in solving them.
One frustrating day, wildly waving my phone in search of internet signal in the town square, a local invited me into his home to share his hacked connection – one he’d created for his family and neighbours. In Cuba, there are never problems, only laughter and relaxed industrious problem solving, usually followed by the now familiar lid being lifted on the cigar box and a friendly “chao pescao” farewell.