Jinetera with tattoo

This young woman with several of here friends sat down at my table at Casa Marina in H. Vieja one hot afternoon. I don't think they saw me as a prospect for anythng more than a cool drink. I obligingly sprang for a Fanta orange for all three of them. They enjoyed playing with my camera. I told them they must pose for pictures in return for the orange soda. This gal was very pround of the sunburst tattooed around her belly button. All of them were clean, nice, and reasonably well educated. Having fun is as much of these girls agenda as is being a working prostitute. For many the sex scene in Havana is more like the singles bar scene in the states than the street hooker scene that occurs in US cities.

Smoke on the Stairs

Many of the buildings of Havana Vieja have dark, somewhat foreboding stairs wells just inside their doors. Often they are dark near the street, but rise up toward light coming in from open windows or courtyards on the second level. Many people spend much of their social life in these dark, cool stair wells. It is a chance to remain cool, visit neighbors, and let children play together on the ground level. Here, Yunieski has stopped to relax with a smoke before heading back out to the hot, sunshine of the street.

Woman on Stairs

I made a series of these sort of pictures in 2004 while in Cuba. I obtained the use of several very old, decrepit buildings in Habana Vieja, hired several models, and had an excellent assistant. I like the beauty suggested by this woman in the midst of the old surroundings. It sort of represents an existential view that life is pretty much what you make of it and no one really deserves more than a chance to try to make something out of it.

Ancon Beach

This cabana is the bar on the beach at the Ancon Hotel near Trinidad. The ocean is warm, the beach is nice, and the hotel is fairly nice by Cuban standards. Both the Ancon and the Costa Sur Hotels were constructed during the Soviet days and subsequently renovated. Beach vacations were used to reward workers. They certainly are not as luxurious as the hotels at Varadero, but do provide a nice and economical beach trip. Since many of the tourists in Cuba are sort of the budget minded European or South American tourists, these beaches are popular during the main season.

Shave and a Hair Cut, 2 Pesos

There are many old traditional barber shops in Havana. They are meeting places, parlors for conversation, and dominos just like they are in the USA. A lot of sports and a little bit of politics get discussed as well. Many of those discussions get too animated and loud for a barber shop. Discussing things like that in close proximity to straight razors is not a particularly good idea. Most are very clean. The barbers wear clean starched smocks, and it is a genuinely professional atmosphere. One of the more humane and meaningful things about the neighborhood societies that exist throughout the city.

This gentleman lives across the street from where we usually stay in Havana. He sells old currency, post cards, and a few old magazines. He is sort of the neighborhood watch guy I suppose. He is always in his doorway, behind a little table upon which he spreads his merchandise, and is quite friendly. Many people have little streetside businesses like this. Some refill lighters with insecticides using the flammable properties of the propellant. Others sell coffee or juice, some sell cookies, some repair clothes or shoes. Really just about anything to eke out a little more money to put toward survival.

Caneys and Rafael

I met these two guys in Santiago. They told me that they were both "clowns". They had retired from a circus and now worked only at birthday parties and affairs like that, held mainly for children. I had never encountered a circus in Cuba and since I still haven't, so I don't know if they were joshing me or not. Both were extremely affable and more than willing to have me make some photos of them. Circus or not, it was fun to meet and photograph them and made for a good day.