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laundry day (detail)
Almost every day seemed like laundry day in Cuba, and this was the day the household washed their white things, which glowed in the tropical light. But mostly what I liked was the thin orange of the clothesline cutting across the view.
Cojímar, Cuba
photographed 11.6.2022
that one boat took on a lot of water
Playa Larga is at the top of the Bay of Pigs*, which is of course the location of the failed attack launched by the CIA in 1961 as an attempt to oust Cuban leader Fidel Castro. The actual invasion was about 45 km south, at the town of Playa Giron, so still pretty close to where I made this photo.
But anyway, I guess you can look at this waterlogged boat as a symbol of that ill-conceived invasion. Or, if you’d prefer, you can look on it as just a really old boat in a country with few resources to repair things like old boats, which will eventually take on water and sink.
Playa Larga, Cuba
photographed 11.10.2022
*I’d’ve used the Spanish name, only the Google map I was referencing, which named other Cuban bodies of water in Spanish, used English for the Bay of Pigs. Using Google Translate, though, I can say with a modest degree of certainty that in Spanish it would be la bahía de cochinos.
schoolgirl, at lunchtime
School attendance is mandatory in Cuba between the ages of 6 to 16. This girl’s uniform indicates that she’s in primary school. Cuban primary school curriculum includes dance and gardening, lessons on health and hygiene, and Cuban revolutionary history. All levels of curriculum focus on the principles of hard work, self-discipline, and love of country.”
Some students may go on to attend the University of Havana, which was founded in 1727. In case you were wondering about long-standing Cuban traditions of higher education.
Playa Larga, Cuba
photographed 11.10.2022
curbside mechanic
This gentleman spent a long time working on a motorcycle. His shop was a little space along the street and the curb served as his toolbox.
I am sure that a clot of photographers aiming their lenses right into his space was distracting; and I am not particularly proud that I contributed to that distraction. (This is the sort of internal conflict I felt every day in Cuba and am still trying to get my head around since I got back.) (More on that later, if I ever feel coherent enough to address it.l)
Cienfuegos, Cuba
photographed 11.9.2022
boxing gym, after practice
Our days in Cuba were of course filled with photography. And it wasn’t just the things you’d expect, like old cars and older buildings. We spent part of one morning at a boxing gym, watching the men work out. It was an open-air gym, it was hot, it was muggy, and they were sweaty. It was rich with history and aspirations.
The gym is named for famed revolutionary Rafael Trejo González, who was killed leading student protests in 1930; his killing was a turning point in the battles against the dictatorship of Gerardo Machado.
Aspiring boxers train here under the coaching of Nardo Mestre Flores, whose goal is to keep alive Cuba’s rich boxing heritage.
Gimnasia do Boxeo Rafael Trejo
Havana, Cuba
photographed 11.11.2022
One Day | One Image 