F8 Cuba Special Edition by Andy Scaysbrook

CUBA

# Introduction

Hello and welcome to this special Cuba edition of f8 magazine. This month we returned to where The Revolution began looking for our favourite old haunts and new adventures; we found both and much, much more. We made new friends, rediscovered great shooting locations and found some incredible new places to hang out and take photographs. We were reminded how much this tiny island is driven by its culture, music and arts and how great a love for these things lies in the hearts of all the people; even the graffiti on the walls reflects people’s love of the country and the great revolutionaries who helped shape this magnificent nation. All over Havana new buildings are springing up and old buildings are being repaired and renovated. Korean, French and even higher-priced German cars are becoming more prevalent on the roads, alongside the ever present classic American Buick’s and Cadillac’s. A hotel we stayed in on our last visit has been upgraded from 3* to 5*, scaffolding covers many historic buildings, hiding major face-lifts – all clear signs that the anticipated influx of tourism and investment is already well underway. As with any country, change is happening first and fastest in the capital, it was refreshing to see that places like Cienfuegos and Trinidad were no different to our last visit, even roadside cafés and rest-stops were exactly as we’d left them. Make no mistake though; Cuba is a country on the verge of another revolution, this time it won’t be men of immense courage, valour and conviction which drives things forward, but the tourist dollar. One thing that will never change though is the warmth, kindness and beauty of the people who are the heart and soul of this legendary sun drenched Caribbean Island. Welcome to Cuba, Hasta la Victoria Siempre!

#Index # Opening Shot # Havana Change # How did you get that? # Alex Castro Interview and Portfolio # Cuban Sport # Capitol Photographer # Portraits of Cuba # Adventures in Trinidad # Rena Interview

Jose Marti painting courtesy of the Jose Marti museum

# Opening Shot Each edition we showcase an image and tell you the story behind it. Our image in this edition was taken on our recent trip to Havana and has an interesting story behind it. This sprightly young gentleman is a local Cuban who sells the national newspaper; Granma. We had spent the morning shooting street photography around Old Havana and stopped for some lunch and some liquid refreshment. As we sat in the warm Cuban sunshine, I spotted his wonderful face making it’s way towards us and I knew I had to photograph him. We called him over and bought several copies of the paper. The headline of the paper is in regard to the five Cubans who were wrongly accused of being spies by the US. They had been honoured with the awards: “Hero of the Republic of Cuba” and the “Order of Playa Girón” by President Raúl Castro. Gerardo Hernández, Ramón La- bañino, Antonio Guerrero, René and Fernando González were arrested by U.S. authorities in 1998 and sentenced in a rigged trial to long prison terms for warning of violent acts launched against Cuba by terrorist groups based in the U.S. Gerardo, Ramón and Antonio arrived in Cuba after being released last December 17; Fernando and René had previously returned after serving their sentences in full. In 2001, the National Assembly of People's Power granted them the honorary status that distinguished them as Heroes of the Republic of Cuba, but the pinning of the distinction on their chests had to wait until this day. One particular quote, which accompanied the photographs of the event, really stood out to us, as the five dedicated their awards to Fidel, they said this: “The first thoughts of the Five today must be for a man whose leadership and strategic vision were decisive to the battle which led to our freedom, and who with his example instilled in us a spirit of struggle, resistance and sacrifice. A man who taught us that the word surrender does not exist in the dictionary of a revolutionary...Comandante en Jefe: this distinction which we proudly receive today is also yours,” 3

# Havana Change

In 2012 we ventured to Havana on a 10 day adventure. This image was shot by Andy Bell and won him the Digital Photography magazine Travel Photographer of the Year Award. As we were in Havana again we decided it would be nice to return to the site and see if the the art work was still there. This is the story of Revolution wall. I have to confess that despite the high praise and accolades this image has received, it’s not my favourite shot from my last time in Cuba, however it is an image I’m proud to have taken and it’s a great testament to Andy’s teaching and mentorship. Before we returned to Havana, we had talked about how great it would be to return and reshoot the Revolution wall, I was confident of being able to find the spot again, even in the twisting, turning maze of backstreets that is Old Havana. After all, the location was engrained in my subconscious and how much could possibly have changed in 2 years in a country where 60-year-old cars are the norm? Well, the answer there was lots. We walked the back streets for what felt like hours but was probably no more than 30 minutes. Old Havana is such a great place to shoot though that it wouldn’t have mattered if it had been days or weeks. We twisted and turned, doubled back and retraced our steps, but couldn’t find the location. I had a copy of the image on my phone, so we took to showing it to locals, asking if they knew the wall – we knew we were very close, within one or two blocks, yet no-one we showed the picture to recognised it. Eventually on a junction of two roads, which looked strikingly like the right place we found a series of metal sidings; 12ft high sheets of corrugated metal blocked access to a building site… Behind them we could see the familiar metal girders which are visible in the right of the original image. We’d found it, but it wasn’t there anymore.

I walked away with mixed emotions; sad that we couldn’t go back, that the wall was gone, happy that a new house, meaning a home for a family was being built on a site which had previously been rubble and, if I’m deeply honest reveling a little in the knowledge that I’d genuinely captured something which could never be recreated; a moment that had passed and wouldn’t and couldn’t be repeated. 7

# Havana Change

We went for a drink in a trendy new warehouse bar with high industrial ceilings and heavy, solid wood furniture along with it’s own microbrewery on-site. The bar would have been at home in any major city and was also a world away from the back streets we’d just left behind. Refreshed, we headed back out to return to our Casa, as we walked back through Old Havana, something caught my eye, the geography, the angle of intersection between three streets, I ran off, shouting excitedly to Andy over my shoulder… Then, at the end of the road I stopped – here it was – this was the place; the Revolution wall, looking everything and nothing like it had done before. Where once there had been weeds growing through rubble, broken glass and crumbling mortar now everything was clean and tidy. A new floor, the walls repaired, and in place of a ruin; a thriving taxi and bicitaxi (bicycle taxi) rank. With a spring in our step we wandered onto the lot and joyfully began snapping away. A confused looking man approached and asked why we were taking photos of his taxi rank; in most other places I’ve visited in the world, if you walk into a mans place of business, uninvited and camera in hand, you’re going to find yourself in a fair degree of trouble. Not here, not in Cuba; we showed my original picture to the man and his colleagues who had gathered round, explaining that we had been looking for the wall and its magnificent graffiti and not surprisingly, they were more than happy to help. So polite, friendly and helpful in fact, that when I said I’d like to get higher up and shoot over the roof of the rank they went off and returned with a step ladder, so I could do just that. Only in Cuba!

Andrew Bell

# How Did You Get That?

The story behind the picture that National Geographic liked so much they published it.

I love street photography, it’s a fantastic way of telling stories and exploring new cities and towns. I think the best way to tell the story of a country is to find it on the streets. Street photography requires a lot of skills; anticipation, bravery, strong composition, fast reflexes, story telling and above all the ability to talk your way out of, or into, a vast array of diﬀerent situations. Of course the premium skill is to go about your work unnoticed. Keep kit to a minimum, one camera / one lens, you wont have time to be changing lenses; you’ll miss the picture and stand out like a sore thumb. I like to let people now I’m taking pictures, there’s nothing to hide and it’s not a crime - but at the same time I like to be discreet and not impose myself on the situation anymore than is necessary. There are many ways of approaching street photography; the great Magnum veteran, Bruce Gilden works in a very diﬀerent way; walking straight upto people, sticking the camera right in their faces and shooting away. Bruce is a New Yorker and as such, has the mouth to match his forward facing approach. I recommend that you look out for his work, he is a superb photographer, a great character and very much of the old school “ Shoot it and be dammed “ mentality. One of the things that I like to teach is to look out for a frame within a frame. By this I mean to seek out some thing that will make a great background and then wait for the subject matter to fall into place. This is a prime example of what we were doing here. I had spotted the beautiful Sky Blue wall and the shadows were falling nicely into place; all I had to do now was wait. As soon as I saw this wonderful lady walking along I knew that the image was there. I lifted my camera and shot three frames in quick succession. The lady looked over to me and gave me the wave which was what I was waiting for, something to lift the picture from the ordinary into something special. I shot two more frames and knew I had it.

Andy Scaysbrook

See different...

# Interview

This editions interview is with photographer Alex Castro who talks to us about his book that has just been published. The book entitled FIDEL chronicles the life of his father through Alexâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own images and the great photographers of the Cuban revolution. Our adventures start in Havana...

It’s too hot in the Havana heat so we’ve retreated to the terrace with two generous rums and plenty of ice. The noise and hubbub of the city drifts through streets and provides a background soundtrack, across the street two men are discussing baseball, gesticulating wildly and laughing raucously. We’re reviewing the morning’s work; another great haul of images, the sky was a brilliant blue with not a hint of cloud and the light had been just perfect, again. Inside a phone rings, Our Man in Havana answers, we hear only a few words “sí, sí , ok, ahora , no, 10 minutos, bien, sí, entiendo , por supuesto , gracias”. He rushes out to the terrace; “pay attention!” - he starts every conversation this way – “We must get ready now, quick, the car will be here in 10 minutes, this is very important, now quickly, quickly”. He relieves us of the rums and ushers us into our room, instructing us to change and get our cameras. Moments later a small car with an equally small driver, both of indeterminate age and origin pull up to the curb and we are crammed inside. The car moves surprisingly quickly and we’re soon headed out of town. The beautiful Spanish architecture of Havana glides past us as the warm air of the Cuban springtime wafts its way around the interior of the car. We are heading to the north of the City and to a beautiful coastal location. Eventually we sweep into the hotel car park we are guided to our parking spot. We get out of the car and stand around as we are told "He's on his way. He'll be here in a few minutes." we take the opportunity to have a smoke and chat with our interpretor, Jali, who feels the gravity of what we are about to do even more than we do. After all, its not everyday that you get to meet the son of the man you admire most in the world. For us this meeting is a double edged sword, after all, its not every day that get too meet not only a man whose photography you admire but also a man whose father just happens to be long time hero of yours. As the shadows start to lengthen we see two people walking towards us, a tall man with a beautiful lady approaches us he extends his hand towards us, greeting us with a firm hand shake and a beaming smile, “ Hello, Im Alex...

As we walk into the air conditioned bar the cool air hits us and provides a nice break from the beating heat of a Havanin afternoon. The staff are friendly and attentative, smiles are exchanged all around as people greet each other with warm words and a sense of mutul respect. “What would you like to drink Alex?’ "Black Beer," comes the reply. The staff look at each other and apologies for not having any Guiness available, so its decided that a cold Cuban beer, a Cristal of course will suffice. I order a rum and we sit down to chat. Alex is accompanied by his beautiful wife - . Ive known of Alex for a while, but he’s never heard of me of course and he knows even less about the immense respect that I have for his father. I ask him about his early forays into photography. AS; How did you get into photography ? AC: I started out working with moving images; video and film working at the television studios, working on many different productions. It was here that I developed my eye and this drove me towards picking up a stills camera, It was very much a natural progression really. AS: What’s most the most important aspect of photography for you? AC: It’s the person behind the camera that is important, what they do, not what they use. You have to have a vision, a story to tell. Sonrisa, 29 April, 2006 Picture by Alex Castro

AS: What was your first camera? AC: My first film camera was an old Russian Zorki 4K, after that I moved onto a 1932 Leica Rangefinder which was fantatsic, such a beautiful camera. AS: What are you shooting on now? AC: At the moment I have a Canon. The Japanese cameras are very good I like Nikon too they are are both very good. AS: What genres of photography are you most interested in? AC: Primarily sports photography; baseball, volleyball, boxing and athletics. I love shooting sport. There is so much sport played in Cuba and I love to capture action photographs that embody the spirit of the game. Im a big baseball fan, You don’t have baseball in England do you? I explain to Alex that indeed we don't play baseball but we do play a game called rounders - a version of baseball usually played by children. Alex frowns at me and says,”please explain it’? So I do my best to describe rounders to him. He chuckles as we tell him it’s a game for girls and young children.”What about Cricket? Is it like cricket?” We then start a long conversation about the merits of a game that can go on for 5 days. 16 October 2010 Picture by Alex Castro

“ The game can go on for five days and it can still be a draw?, ” enquires Alex with a confused look on his face. “ Yes” I reply “but its a great game”. Alex dose’nt seemed convinced of this. “Thats a long time to play one game” he says. I tell him much like Cuba we English love our sport. “Oh yes I know you really love Football and Rugby, I have seen it on TV. I ask if he likes Football?” No,” comes the quick reply. At this point the bartender ask us if we would like another drink, we order another round of drinks and people are starting to listen in on our conversation. It seems that they have discovered who the big guy in the corner is. I wonder if this gentle giant attracts much attention when he moves about in Cuba? after all his surname carries immense gravitas that some would find diﬃcult to carry with them but not Alex. it seems he’s a very cool and laid back man, someone who would be happy to talk to anyone and someone with whom we all find easy going and good company. AS: Where in the world would you most like to photograph? AC: I would like to shoot in London, I love the architecture there and the buses and taxis. There are so many amazing buildings and you have many influences on your history which is good. I love the shape of the London taxi it’s a great car. Acto Por El De Mayo 2001 Picture by Liborio Noval

AS: I explain that we are looking at establishing a teaching and lecturing programme in Cuba so that we can offer our services - free of charge - to students in Cuba and help get Cuban photographers publicity and get their work seen around the world. AC: Photography is a very difficult profession to get into in Cuba; in the past here it was difficult to get film,it was also expensive too, now it is expensive to get digital cameras and computer equipment. Commercial wedding photography is becoming more popular and prevalent though, also, it’s hard to find professional tuition, only really basic teaching is available so there is plenty of opportunities for you. AS: You’ve recently published a collection of images of your father showcasing your work and that of the other great Cuban photographers. Do you have a favourite picture. AC: No, not really – there are many images and they all combine to tell a story. Ive shot many images of my Dad the pictures in the book continue to tell the story of my fathers life. AS: Im eager to know how it must feel to see you fathers image all over the world after all he has been photographed so many times and in so much important historical context. I grew up with the images of your Father and Che, as did the world, What is it like to see your Dad portrayed in this way? Fidel playing Baseball in Agosto 1974 Picture by Pablo Caballero

AC: My father has always been a great father. I see him as Dad and that is maybe different to the rest of the world but to me he is dad. A great father. AS: What is next for you as a photographer? AC: To continue my current work and hopefully expand into other areas and genres of photography. As I said earlier I like sports but I’m attracted to the many different elements that photography offers. In fact if you’ve got any interesting projects I’d like to hear them, maybe we can work on something together? AS: Well that’s certainly an offer we should look into. AC: Can I see more of your work? We then proceed to show Alex and his wife my new book, People, I explain that its been shot in fifthteen countries over a two year period. As he looks through the book he points at the first picture and turns to me and says “England” Im surprised to say the least, how did he know I ask? “ The grey clouds in the sky” he laughs. As we leaf through the book he displays a remarkable ability to name exact countries that the images were taken in. He is especially interested in the image of a man with no legs, begging on the street. “ Where is this taken” “Hong Kong” we reply. He seems surprised at the location but nods his head in approaval of the picture, “very nice, great picture” he says.

We flick through the pages of the book and he asks for a copy of it which I give him. “I really like it, Excellent work” I thank him for his comments and for the time he’s taken out of his very busy schedule to talk to us. One final question I say, as He drinks down the rest of his cool beer, he looks up and smiles, “There is always one more” he says, Indeed I say, I ask “ Who is your favourite photographer? The answer is simple and straight to the point “Henri Cartier - Breson” comes the reply. “ There are many great photographers, but for me I would choose Henri. He is a master of his art” and with that we finish our drinks. Alex insists on giving us two copies of the book and wants to sign them for us too. We gratefully accept. We finish oﬀ our drinks and Alex poses for pictures with us before we head out into the cool evening air blowing in nicley oﬀ the glistening Carribean sea. Alex turns to us and says “Thank you, it was a pleasure to meet and talk with you” He gives us his card and we shake hands and wish him all the best. We head back to the car with a feeling of a job well done, we turn and smile to our Man in Havana, he smiles back “ What a great guy” I say” Emillio smiles back and says “I told you so”. We head back to the house where we are re aqquainted with our rums and we light a cigar as we sit back on the terrace and let the warm glow of an Havanian evening work its magic on us once again.

Andy Scaysbrook / Andrew Bell

Che and Fidel 1959 Picture by Roberto 21 Salas

Central Park, New York 1955 Picture by Osvaldo Salas 22

Ernest Hemingway and Fidel 1960 Picture by Osvaldo Salas 23

Baseball 1965

Moscow, Russia 1967

Picture by Roberto Salas

Picture by Pablo Caballero

Receiving Pope II John Paul II 1998 Picture by Liborio Noval

Fidel 16th December 2001 Picture by Liborio Noval

27 Scaysbrook Alex Castro and Andy

Alex Castro and Andrew Bell 28

# Cuban Sport

Famous for their love of baseball - a throwback to the American influence of the 50â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - and boxing at which they excel, currently holding the record for the most Olympic boxing medals, you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to walk far along the majestic streets of Havana to see children playing in the streets. The sports they play range from street baseball to tennis and squash. These days you will also see an increasing amount of football being played as the new generation of Cubans begin to embrace the superstars of the modern era.

Book your Cuban Adventure today!

www.revolutionphotography.org

# Capitol Photographer

â&#x20AC;&#x153;5$ a picture!â&#x20AC;? came the cry from the photographer as we walked past the Capitol building where he makes his living shooting pictures of tourists. We decided to take up his offer in return for shooting his portrait and hearing the story of how the man from Antigua made his camera from things that he had found. A remarkable story of a resourceful and talented man.

“Ha, ha. Im from Antigua” laughs the man in the cap with the wooden camera, when I ask him his name. “ That’s my name, Im from Antigua” cue more laughing. As we stand there being photographed by “Im from Antigua” He rattles of his lsit of well trodden tourist questions “Where are you from?” “England” we reply, Ah, your from the Queen of England” more laughter ensuses and before we know it he replaces his lens cap - made form cardboard and plastic tape - “ I got you now,” cue laughter...

“So where did you get this camera from it looks fantastic?” “I found the lens and then I made the rest from things that I discovered. The box is from a fruit store and that elastic you see around the end of the camera, that’s from an old pair of my old underpants! The man from Antigua lets out a belly laugh and slaps me on the back in appreciation of a joke well shared. “I like it, it’s a great camera”, He looks down at my state of the art Nikon and laughs out loud. I have to say that I feel rather silly stood there with my camera on my shoulder, here is a man doing exactly the same thing as me - photography with a camera made from things he found. Staggering. Further proof if proof were needed that it’s the person behind the camera that’s important and not the camera itself.

â&#x20AC;&#x153; I found the lens, then I built the camera around itâ&#x20AC;?

There is something very haunting and enigmatic about the two girls in the picture that is clipped to the side of the camera. Who are they? Why has he kept them? The narrative here is very strong and beautifully captured and who are those two out of focus figures? I am so drawn to this because it offers more questions than answers which all great photographs have. This little cameo of a Cuban street photographer playing his trade every day is a very humbling experience for us all.

Bill Jackson Photographer

â&#x20AC;&#x153; The elastic around the camera which helps keep it light tight, is from a pair of my old underpants!â&#x20AC;?

This is real street photography - the complete photographic service. I have travelled a lot and many years ago came across a street photographer in Cairo back in the ‘80s who I am reminded of when I see this great picture. In this case he has made his own camera. We have seemingly lost our ingenuity and how many of us could ‘rustle up’ their own camera made out of found objects ? I just love this image, it reminds us of where we really stand - in front of the camera. Bill Jackson Photographer.

# Portraits

The wonderful people who inhabit this awe-inspiring city are a mixture of races who live together in harmony. In Cuba, this is the norm. Here, everyone is respectful of each other regardless of creed or colour. Here we look at some of the wonderful portraits you can capture when you join us on the streets of Old Havana.

# Adventures in Trinidad

Trinidad will leave you breathlessâ&#x20AC;Ś The town remains almost exactly the same as it was in the 15th century: Cobbled streets mixed with houses painted in pastel hues provide us with the most stunning of locations. The sounds of rhumba and salsa fill the air and the sweet perfume of wild flowers fills your sense of smell as you lose yourself in the town that time forgot. Welcome to Trinidad, a town like no other...

# Experience the Real Cuba

It might seem that we spend a lot of our time on holiday in exotic locations. Sadly that’s not quite true. Yes, we get to travel, visit some wonderful countries and meet people all around the world, but we’re always working… well, nearly always…

Our recent trip to Cuba was no exception, it was an unbelievable journey, we had some fantastic experiences and met some incredible people, but it was all in preparation for our upcoming Retreats. Our primary reason for going was to make sure that we had everything lined up and ready for when you join us here. A big part of that was meeting up with some of our in-country contacts, a team of people who are invaluable in ensuring that our Retreats and your experiences are absolutely perfect; every time. We’d like to introduce one of those contacts to you our very good friends at Experience the real Cuba are responsible for helping us organise some of the accommodation and a great many of the activities we are able to oﬀer. They are genuinely lovely people who open up their homes and their hearts. Here is their story: It’s been 8 years since I first went to learn Spanish in Trinidad, Cuba, to live with a family I knew nothing about. In fact, I didn’t really know what to expect from my Cuban adventure. It was very daunting and exciting at the same time, and I couldn’t wait for the adventure to begin. In 2006 I was working in London for a national newspaper, although many of my childhood summers had been spent in Cyprus; where my family originates from and I had visited Asia after graduating from university, I hadn’t travelled much since and felt I was ready for a new challenge; I wanted to add some colour and excitement to my life. I dreamed of living within another culture, speaking a new language and developing new skills. I was chose to undertake a residential Spanish language programme and I knew it had to be in Cuba. I had visited the country before but I had only touched the surface, I was fascinated by Cuba and knew it was a place I had to revisit; to dig deeper into the language, the culture, the history and the people. On my previous visit to Cuba, my Spanish wasn’t fluent and although I could make polite conversation, I couldn’t really find out what it was like to live in Cuba. Something in the eyes and the smiles of the locals made me feel there was more to their story and I desperately wanted to talk with them and find out about the real Cuba.

I found a Spanish language program in Trinidad and quickly discovered that not only is it a picturesque, colourful, colonial city but it was also set amongst the sierra Escambray Mountains and close to beautiful beaches with aquamarine Caribbean waters. It seemed like the perfect choice and the perfect opportunity to experience real life with a family in Cuba. My first few days were a little overwhelming, but I really had nothing to worry about. Once I relaxed and let go of my inhibitions I realised that Cubans were amongst the friendliest and most welcoming people I had ever come across. I found there was a real sense of community, they looked out for each other and their dynamic characters were infectious. It fuelled my desire to understand them all the more. They seemed happy, laughing and joking all the time and I wanted to be part of it.

As my Spanish language skills developed and I began to engage more and more I found that I had become part of the family. Slowly with their trust they let me see and understand what it was to really like to live in Cuba and be Cuban, they shared their story and let me see the real challenges they faced. I quickly fell under the magical spell of Trinidad; I welcomed it into my life with open arms and allowed its spell to engulf me. My experience in Cuba and in Trinidad was all that I had imagined it to be and more, it was hard to leave it behind. I truly did escape from it all in Cuba, it was an easy place to disconnect from the world and live for the moment. I returned to Trinidad at every opportunity I could find, it had become my home away from home, my bond with the family their became stronger and we developed a lifelong friendship. With each visit came a new experience, always catching me by surprise in some way. I was always learning something new about Cuba and really getting to see through the eyes of the families that had welcomed me into their lives. I no longer felt like a tourist, I felt like a belonged.

In 2010, we decided to work together and Experience The Real Cuba was born, oﬀering Spanish lessons and salsa classes, whilst living with a family in a Casa particular. Since then we have developed a network of contacts in Havana, Santiago de Cuba and Remedios and now also oﬀer a number of programmes; Cuban percussion instrument courses, piano and guitar lessons, painting and pottery workshops as well as dive courses, in multiple locations all over the country.

Rena Papatheofilou: Co-founder Experience the real Cuba

Experience The Real Cuba is not just a business; we are a family facing local and international challenges. We offer a personal service and welcome people from all walks of life; encouraging them to follow their dream, to step into an enchanting yet complicated world and take part in a cultural activity of their choice with reliable and professional instructors. Since Experience The Real Cuba began, Cuba has seen many changes and now I see the effects those changes have brought to Cuba. The way things work in Cuba is beginning to change and Experience The Real Cuba will evolve with these changes, whilst continuing to offer the personal service it has always strived to provide. 80

If you are interested in visiting Cuba and taking part in something a little diﬀerent to our photography Retreats then we would encourage you to contact Experience the real Cuba – they’ve been invaluable in helping us and we can highly recommend them. Find out more via their website:

www.experiencetherealcuba.com 81

# Closing Thoughts Parting is such sweet sorrow… Or so the saying goes… It certainly rang true as we sat in the departure lounge at Josi Marti International, sipping from cans of Cristal, eating airport pizza and awaiting our flight home. Sorrow, for the leaving behind of new friends and for the end of this moment; the credits roll on our latest adventure. Sweet, because we are returning home back to our families and friends, back to routines and schedules, back to home… This had been a legendary adventure from start to finish… Re-discovering the backstreets of Old Havana, marvelling at the arts and music that fuel this country, a road-trip to Trinidad with it’s perfect light, sublime architecture and delightful people, then perfectly topped off with getting to meet and spend time with Alex Castro. It’s always difficult when a story reaches it’s conclusion… That moment as you close the book, glad that you’ve found all the answers, sad because those characters will never be new to you again. Going home after a holiday is much the same; you meet new people, explore new places and then you have to return to meetings in offices. But when you travel with us, going home doesn’t have to be the end of the story; just the closing of a chapter. When you leave one of our retreats, you’re still only just beginning your photographic journey with Revolution Photography. All Retreat Guests will be invited to contribute to future issues of this magazine and, through our mentorship programme, exclusively available to Retreat Guests, you can continue learning with us for as long as you want.