Cuba Published by Bruce Byers Photography All images ©copyrighted and registered by Bruce Byers Bruce Byers Photography 165 East 72nd Street, Studio 3H New York, NY 10021 byers@brucebyers.com 917-992-1453
ISBN 978-0-578-83345-3
Printing:
Digital World Solutions, Inc.
www.dwsny.com Editor:
Deborah Patton
This Is Cuba Cuba is unlike any other place in the world. Yes, it is a Caribbean island with a rich history dating back to the 16th century. Yes, its fight has been fought for years in the shadow of the U.S., just 90 miles away. And yes, it is filled with some of the most resilient people on Earth. Cuba is a confounding mix of extremes: the beautiful patina of decaying architecture; worldclass art in a society with guarded permission for free expression; vibrant music that is revered worldwide transcending a repressive society; an economy dependent on the kindness of tourist strangers; happy people living at a poverty level; an ingenius and problem-solving culture making the most of limited resources; and a new generation of independent thinkers and innovators operating in a constrained system. Above all, it is the people who define Cuba’s indominable soul. You can learn a lot about someone in the short amount of time it takes to photograph them. There is a pervasive pragmatism among Cubans. When something doesn’t work out, just wait a few minutes and something better comes along. Warm and welcoming, you’re virtually guaranteed to meet with the kind of hospitality typically reserved for favorite relatives and best friends. Cuba is more than the sum of its parts. As a photographic destination, it rivals the best locations in the world. And photography is a window into the hearts and souls of its 11.3 million residents. As difficult as their lives may be and have been, Cubans can teach us all lessons in patience, flexibility and grace under pressure.
Cuba in My Mind’s Eye I make pictures. I make friends. These two things are inextricably linked for me, and I love both more than anything else. Over the last decade I’ve visited Cuba 24 times, covering the island nation from top to bottom and coast to coast. I bring along friends and students interested in learning the intricacies of travel photography. And what we’ve come away with are thousands of pictures and at least as many friends as we’ve made in our hometowns in America. I see Cuba though the eyes and lives of my Cuban friends in the photos I take. A visit to Cuba is both a trip back in time to a simpler life and a view of the future where a society is on the edge of bursting into its full potential. I have traveled throughout the country with my camera capturing moments in time and timeless images of a proud and resilient people. In all my travels, Cuba speaks the most powerfully to me, and this book is a tribute to their spirit and soul.
Bruce with farmer Angel Cruz Pelaez, one of the many friends he has made in Cuba.
The Farmers As I was scouting the island for new photographic opportunities, I headed to Trinidad, a great little city on the southern coast of Cuba. On the way there I asked my guide, “Can you take me to a farm?” We pulled up to a wooden house with dirt floors. The farmer had been given 50 acres of orchards by the Castro government 20 years ago, but it had taken him the last seven years to get a permit to build a stone house, which he really needed to shelter his family. He took us around to several other nearby farms. One place had an old home that was about ready to fall down. The light was fantastic inside, a great place for photographing. They said, “We’re going to tear the place down tomorrow!” I begged, “Please, please keep it up for a week!” I came back with a group of photographers and we photographed the place, the farmers, the fields. And of course, we all ended up as great friends. The people of Cuba have very little materially and financially because of the trade embargo with the U.S. They don’t have our type of large drug stores, even car dealerships or Walmarts. After a wonderful morning of photographing, I said to a farmer, I want to give you something that you really need. He looked at me and said through my interpreter, “A cow.” I gave him $200, enough money to buy a cow, which unfortunately died before I returned a year later. He was allowed, somehow, to get another cow who was pregnant. In such a fragile economy, the milk gives him a welcome second income besides his orchards.
The local Cuban artist was allowed by Castro to do their art. It has and is a big part of who Cuba is. Over the years I have met and photographed many Cuban artist. One artist from Santiago has become a great friend. We work together on each trip helping to expose travelers to Cuba and Cuban art. Over the years I have traded photographic prints for local art. My sister has been working with artist to create a
The Artists For a country with limited supplies and dependent on offshore collectors, Cuban artists have an unusual level of freedom of expression. The history of world-class artists is one of the hallmarks of Cuba. The National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana is a great place to see the historical panorama of Cuban art, and contemporary artists continue to uphold the tradition everywhere on the island. They enthusiastically welcome visitors into their studios, introducing professional and amateur collectors to their work. On my third trip to Havana in 2012, I met the successful painter, Carlos Rene Aguilera Tamayo. His father, Jose Julian Aguilera Vicente, opened their studio Taller Aguilera in 1980 in Santiago where Carlos is still creating art today. Carlos’ overall knowledge of art, and especially Cuban art, has opened many studio doors for me to be able to see, photograph and talk with local artists. These visits are a highlight of every trip to Cuba.
The Boxers Boxing is an unofficial national sport of Cuba. I was introduced to Maikel, a young boxer in Havana, many years ago. He was training in the Rafael Trejo Boxing Gym at the end of Cuba Street. When you enter, you think that you have been dropped back in time or on a movie set from a bygone era. The simple, rustic ring was centered between two sets of aging bleachers. The sun streaming through tall windows, created dramatic shadows against the walls. The boxers magically appeared, all with different kinds of equipment in different colors; it was beautiful. Over the last seven years I have gotten to know many of the boxers very well and follow them around the city to the gyms where they work out. It’s a community, and these boxing icons bring in kids – lots of them – to train as future boxers. The photographic interiors of the gyms match the impressive physical power of these highly-trained athletes.
The Restorers Eusebio Leal Spengler (11 September 1942 – 31 July 2020) served as the municipal historian of Havana, as well as the director of the restoration project of Old Havana. Under his oversight, the historic center of the capital city of Havana became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Thus, began the restoration of Old Havana. The city’s planner convinced Fidel Castro to give him enough money to rebuild the old city restoring the streets and buildings to exactly how they looked in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Havana was in pretty bad shape in the 1950s, but luckily there were photographs from better days to help guide in the restoration of the buildings. As a result, Old Havana is a magnificent reminder of history past. My friends, Juan Jesús Gesen Musa is a restoration specialist and Juan Carlos Perez Botello, is an architect, mural painter and principal at the workshop school of Havana, Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos. They teach the craftsmanship and artistry of renovating these amazing buildings with authentic woods and stone. They remanufacture architectural details that have either worn away or been lost. Through their wisdom and expertise, I have photographed the progress and results of their heroic endeavors.
The Musical Artists What can I say? Just listen! Music is in the air. Actually, music is everywhere in Cuba. In the streets. Streaming out of the windows. In the bars. In the restaurants, where you dance through your dinner. Guitarists serenading their girlfriends on the Malecon. Jazz artists jamming before a gig. Retro nightclub shows indoors and spontaneous performances outdoors. And the music gets into your bones. You dance and smile unashamedly. Music is the lifeblood of Cuba and a huge gift to the world. From the clubs and cafés to the backstreets, you hear the beat everywhere. Cuban musicians are of all ages, and their music is one of the most powerful connectors from their culture to ours.
The Dancers Cuba is always full of surprises. The first time I met this amazing troupe of dancers was when I accidentally walked into a studio full of young Flamenco dance students. The echoing noise of their shoes and the clapping of their hands were mesmerizing. I watched and photographed as they came alive on stage. After the class, I spoke with the teacher and discovered the dancers were a well-known Flamenco dance group, Compañía Flamenca Ecos. Over the years, I’ve photographed them throughout Havana; it’s an incredible opportunity to capture their magnificent style and vibrant colors against the backdrop of this beautiful tropical city.
In memory of Gretell Landrof Font.
The Cuban Flag Cubans are fiercely proud of their country and the flag that symbolizes their history. They love to be photographed holding the flag. There are Cuban flags all over the island, a visual marker of their turbulent years of government, culture and society.
Playing with the Nose Card Years ago, I found this nose card of Humphrey Bogart in a junk shop in LA. I have carried it with me around the world and people have posed for me wearing it. It is entertaining and amusing, and in an abstract way, the nose card connects people from Nepal and Pakistan to Croatia and Cuba in a family of humankind.
The Malecon The Malecon is more than an ocean break wall. It is a park for kids, gathering place and stage to hear music and share stories. It extends from the majestic Morro Castle at the mouth of Havana harbor across to the northern edge of the city. It is a ritual to go there for the drama of the breaking waves from a storm or the calm waters of sunrise. The nets of the fishermen who dot the Malecon are dramatically silhouetted in the light. The Malecon is an antidote for the challenges of everyday life in the city and a serene place for reflection.
A twenty first centry Spanish ( training ship) attack on Havana’s Morro Castle.
The Children Children are the spirit of Cuba and its secure future. They free play without the ubiquity of videogames (although that is changing). Education is provided to every child in Cuba, and they are a resourceful lot. The next-gens are innovators with the limited technology they have access to in helping older Cubans and bringing uncensored citizen news to the island. Children are magnetic attractions for tourists who are charmed by their playfulness and for a photographer, they are sheer joy.
The People Cubans are picture perfect. Their lives are etched on their faces as are their futures on the children’s happy faces. Many people visit Cuba and photograph the more obvious architectural ruins, monuments and street scenes. For me, Cuba is about its people, who are gracious, kind and curious. I have been welcomed into their homes, schools, shops and the lives of so many people – they are a gift to me as a photographer. This book celebrates their lives with many spontaneous moments and posed portraits. In every case, they have re-taught me the power of the image to communicate personal triumph, courage, joy and empathy.
Farmers’ stories
The Cuban Cars The last year American cars were imported to Cuba was 1958. When you exit the Havana airport, you think you have instantly returned to the past with so many classic cars on the streets. The cars are serious attractions for tourists and collectors … and photographers. A large percentage of the old cars are used as taxis, and many are showboats for enthusiastic visitors. Cubans are ingenious in preserving and restoring these 60-year old models with no replacement parts or spares. For a car lover, Cuba is a playground; for a photographer it is like photographing in a time warp. Every day it looks like a classic car show of Fords and Chevys. I began photographing these stylish, lovingly rehabilitated cars, repainted with more vibrant colors, in contrast to the 500-year old architecture. At one point I walked across an intersection with 15 1955 Chevys waiting for the light to change. As I traveled across the country, American cars of all years before 1959 showed up in the strangest places. The distinctive design of these classic cars, and the fact that they are the main form of transportation, help give Cuba its unique mystique and personality.
The Architectural Walls How do you celebrate your 500th birthday? Birthday cake and then you paint the walls of your city in many different colors. Across the country the walls give vibrancy to the cities and countryside with their rich colors. After a few years in the sun, they take on a beautiful patina and act as wonderful backdrops and places to photograph.
A Parting Shot I collect new friends and they collect me. We stay in touch. Many of my portraits show the same people over the course of a decade. I feel I have become an honorary citizen of their hometowns. Every trip to this beautiful and wonderous island has been, and continues to be, one of the joys of my life. And I plan to continue visiting Cuba regularly, camera in hand, for many years to come.