PhotoCuba 2020

I was happy to return to Santiago de Cuba and the village of Chivirico in January as the lead instructor of the annual PhotoCuba workshop.

CUBA! Sun, sand, palms and rum are all part of the fun. But it's the Cuban people themselves that makes the time there so special.

And while I'm always enamoured with the natural beauty of the island, it's the people's joie-de-vive and their resilience in the face of so many deprivations that make a trip to Cuba so memorable.



Here are a few of my favourite people pics from my two weeks stay:

Off to school on foot or, if you're lucky, on donkey

A son musician at the Casa de la Trova in Santiago. She pointed to faded photos of herself playing there as a young woman.

A homemade bat and threadbare ball are all you need to play pelota (baseball) on the street.

Diana from Havana posed for my camera 

My birding guide, Sapo, and his Plymouth

Life on the street can be hard. This gentleman has just rummaged through a garbage can and fished out a plastic bag and some wire. He folded it carefully before moving on.

This is a candid shot. No permission granted. Sometime I have to be a little surreptitious to get the shot I want.

Another candid photo: my guide Odelsys at home with her son. 

Hanging out with the musicians at Casa de la Trova was a highlight of my time in Cuba. (photo by Les Jones)