07/03/2025
The last batch from my Cuba photo workshop last week. Life in Cuba is complex, Havana is falling in on itself except for government buildings. There's trash in the streets, people begging for food everywhere and yet lots of smiles and warmth. We went to Cienfuego where the streets were clean and many private buildings where pristine, at least on the outside. A theater built in the 1880's was beautiful and in need of updating. We drove through a small village and needed a public restroom. There weren't any stores or gas stations, so our guide stopped a man on the street and he invited us into his house to use his bathroom. The house was pristine, there was a pot of rice and beans cooking over a wood fire in the back because they had no other fuel and they had electricity for an hour a day. His in-laws live there and they were all smiles and happy to talk with the Americans. In Trinidad we came across a dance class in a courtyard. The kids were working hard and following the advice of their teacher. I am inspired by the spirit of the Cuban people.
