An Art-Lover in Cuba: A Fictional Photo-Essay

Sarah A Smith
Information Studies 208: Development of Cultural Information Sources Using Digital Multimedia
Professor Howard Besser

Arriving in Cuba

Against the wishes of my now ex-lover, Elian (ex because my actions defy his belief system, even though I agree with him, but am pretending I don't and doing it anyway out of spite, which is another story),

I am on a plane to Cuba. I am going to study the art in Havana. (Elian says my trip will do more to finance Cuba's military dictatorship than benefit the art world.)

The first thing I see when I walk into my hotel room are towels arranged in interlocking hearts.

Not having anyone to share my great capacity for loving with, I jump up and down on them, leaving a few nice shoeprints. It was all great fun until I got out of the shower the next morning and had no clean towels. Wet and dripping, I crack open my door and holler for hotel service to please bring me a towel. A man eventually complies. He probably got a good look at my nearly dry nakedity before I shut the door.

I stroll through a downtown park after breakfast to clear my head.

I pass a man lying down with his head in a statue's lap.  I had to look twice to make sure I was seeing right. A hippie in Cuba! I reach for my camera. I should get a picture of this. Then I change my mind. I am really here to take photographs of native art, not funky tourists.

Over the next several days, I scour Havana, snapping shots of various types of art. The murals captivate me for hours.

There are also textual, as opposed to pictorial, statements painted on walls,

and many posters, as well.

I almost knock over a representation of people on a bike while staring at a Cuban hottie and get cursed at by a nearby shop owner.

I clutch my camera to my chest and walk quickly away, not stopping to take any more photos until I fortuitously enter a plaza where festivities are taking place. An overview of art forms is not complete without costumes!

The saga continues... [page 2]
Jump to: "Una Gota de Agua" [page 3] or "Going Home" [page 4]