Highlighting the people that are shaping the narrative today. We live on the corner of culture and innovation.
(Jose Marti Airport. Photographed by Estevan Oriol for East of Havana) Behold! President Barack Obama has eased travel restrictions to Cuba with a policy change signed into law this month. The few Florida travel agents that booked Cuban flights now have phones ringing off the hook. Some agents claim the demand is so big that…
This past Christmas, I went home to Miami where one of my parents always schools me on an old Cuban flick. Here's one worth searching out. The Death of a Bureaucrat is directed by one of Cuba's most famous Directors called Tomas Gutierrez Alea, the same guy who directed Fresa y Chocolate (Strawberries & Chocolate)…
Beyond History is a new photo book on Cuba. The collection of portraits were taken in Havana from 1998 to 2006. It's Poetic Documentary vs Dirty Realism. The book is layed out in the spirit of a Cuban-Peter-Beard-style Journal, with snapshots and scribbles rubbed up against each other. The Photos, Artwork, Collages, and Texts are…
President-elect Obama has made a vow to close the US Detention Center at Guantanamo Bay. Tons of human-rights organizations and civil libertarians are cheering hard right now. It does however post some tough questions. Closing the prison is a "do-able" task. The problem is more about what to do with the prisoners? Some Obama advisors…
I'm always a fan of how art direction, propaganda, and music can be combined to heighten emotion. If you've never heard the Cuban National Anthem, here ya go! J
Remember Boogie Nights' long pool scene? The continuous "one-take" shot that patiently maneuvered through the poolside, through various characters? The last image being a hot babe getting up from her chair as the camera follows her diving into the water. Paul Thomas Anderson was inspired by a classic Cuban film called Soy Cuba. The film…
Really good essay in last Sunday's New York Times Magazine about a family living in Nicaro, located at the northeast coast of the Holguín Province. Read here: "The Cuban Way" by RACHEL KUSHNER. Published: October 17, 2008 (Another family, the De Cardenas, photographed in Nicaro, Cuba) (Holguin Province) (Nicaro in Holguin Province)
I'm one of those people that dread looking at people's travel photos from Cuba. Without trying to sound too jaded, most of it is super cliche -- let's see, there's the che guevara mural shot, some old lady with a cigar in her mouth, a decayed 1950's buick, maybe one propaganda billboard? While most people…
Time moves soooooo slow down in Cuba...Everyone is basically waiting for something to change. Anyway, the guys I know down there bust out in an improvised song every five seconds. Its really in their blood. Anyone who's ever hung out in Cuba will totally get this clip. Makes me laugh everytime. J p.s. notice the…
