Viva, a photo from La Habana, West

Photographer's Note

The question that I get asked the most after my return is "how do Cubans feel about Fidel?" That is a loaded question. From what I gathered, Cubans in Cuba very much viewed Fidel as a father figure...and like all fathers he has his flaws. Despite the man's short comings, he has brought many good changes to the country that otherwise would have been impossible.

One family I stayed with said this "People want Fidel dead so there will be new changes. For us, we do not want him to die because who knows what will happen? This house, maybe someone from Miami will come back and say 'This is my house, I want it back.'"

The one thing that people value more than freedom is prosperity. What good is freedom if there is no food on the table and no roof over your head? Cuba has been recovering slowly since the "Special Period" after the fall of the Soviet Union. To have the country founding father die could take the country a step towards chaos again. Many folks do not want to see this happen, despite the good that may come out of it.

gabrielpat, brandstaetter, BitterMoon, Griet heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

PaulGana (60) 2008-04-14 11:52

nice lighting and colors, good focus and nice composition. Nice setting too

gabrielpat (7163) 2008-04-14 12:02

oui on peut se poser bcp de question sur le régime et l'histoire...la seule chose que j'espère c'est que Cuba ne redevienenne pas le bordel des gringos argentés.

brandstaetter (15915) 2008-04-14 12:56

Hi Mark,
excellent portrait in a surrounding that goes along with the mood and your note.
It really is a big question what will happen, and I hope Cuban people will turn peacefully towards democracy and preserve the wonderful characteristica of this fascinating country.
Cheers Christian

Griet (506) 2008-04-16 2:17

Hi Mark,
I totally agree with your statement. Let's hope they 'll get the prosperity they are longing for
I like your portrait of this young guy together with the slogans on the wall which you can find all over Cuba
greetings
Griet

tamatree (243) 2008-04-16 11:44

Your work deserves far more credit than it's receiving here. I think most of the people on here see a cheesy landscape and flock to give it points...but come classic documentry-style photography and they can't see the wood from the trees. Shame. For what it's worth...I think youre a genius.

ThomasL (419) 2008-04-16 12:41

Hi Mark,

Nice shot!
I like the green and yellow colors and the composition here! You can almost feel the structure of that 'wall'. Very well captured!

Greetings,
Thomas