Thursday, September 4, 2014

Man + Shawl, San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba, Summer of 2014


So here we are driving in the countryside looking for faces to document when I see a man riding a bicycle across the street in front of us. Alejandro was looking in the other direction and missed seeing him. I asked Alejandro in an excited voice to turn to the left into the service station to look for him. As we did so he rode his bicycle to the other side of the street once again into a long driveway. We followed him up the driveway and finally caught up with him.

Alejandro was a little nervous in approaching him, but did so regardless. The man was so serene, peaceful and loving. He immediately allowed us to make his portrait, invited us to visit his family's home the same day to plan a formal visit over the weekend. He was born in India and moved to Cuba at a very young age. He practices Judaism, reads the scriptures and has incorporated aspects from other faiths into his everyday life.

We purchased two loaves of sweet bread from him, one of which we ate immediately, and then drove to his family's home to visit with his wife and children. They agreed like their father to our visit on Sunday and we planned on returning to photograph the rest of the family. The rest of the story is to come!

This image was made in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba. Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia regarding this place:

'There are 39 schools in the town, employing over 600 teachers. These schools include an academy of plastic arts, a school for training art teachers, and the International School of Cinema and Television Escuela Internacional de Cine y Televisión which was established in 1986. The town's library was founded in 1975, and has a collection of more than 32,000 books.'


www.halimina.org

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