STEVE RAZZETTI MOUNTAIN PHOTOGRAPHY AND JOURNALISM

CUBA

"Yo soy un hombre sincero

de donde crece la palma

Y antes de morir yo quiero

echar mis versos del alma

guantanamera...."

It's impossible to visit Cuba without loosing a large piece of your heart. What a wonderful country! For me, it's a people thing. People, and the music they make. For what it's worth, I'd like to dedicate this gallery to the memory of Ruben Gonzales and Compay Segundo...

Walk the streets of La Habana Vieja as evening approaches, and the sound of live music can be heard drifting into the streets from almost every bar. Of course the Buena Vista Social Club deserve every accolade they recieve, but the breadth of Cuba's musical heritage is so much greater....Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
   
As the heat of the afternoon wanes, the colours warm up and people emerge from the cool of their parlours.Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
   
     
  
Cuba has survived on its wits in the face of decades of dastardly economic repression at the hands of the United States. This man proudly showed me his working tools - all half a century old and made in Sheffield, England!Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
   
  
Two sugar estate workers enjoying a midday break in the shade. Hacienda Iznaga is in the Valle de los Ingenios, on the road from Trinidad to Sancti Spiritus.Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
     
  
A curious and rather charming side effect of American economic sanctions has been to turn Cuba into a living car museum.Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
   
The proprietor of a government food-shop in Trinidad poses with her grand-daughter.Supplies of essential foodstuffs are still distributed according to the communist rationale - each family has a book of vouchers. We hoped to buy coffee to take home, but each shop has a strict quota to distribute and could only spare a tiny amount.Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
   
     
  
This huge statue stands sentinel, watching over the harbour and city of Havana.Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Nikon FM2, 50mm, Fuji Velvia
     
  
Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Nikon FM2, 50mm, Fuji Velvia
     
  
Nikon FM2, 50mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
   
The old city - La Habana Vieja - is an architectural time-capsule, consisting of block after block of crumbling Spanish colonial magnificence. Now recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and receiving substantial grants, the process of regeneration has begun.Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
     
  
Another view of this stunning square.Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
   
If you had a car like this, you'd want to show it off too!Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Founded in 1731, this beautiful building is one of the key landmarks in Trinidad. Today it houses the Museum of the Struggle against Counter-Revolutionaries....Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
     
  
Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Nikon FM2, 50mm, Fuji Velvia
     
  
Farmers from nearby bring their produce to town by horse and cart, selling directly to families in their homes.Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
   
A man watching the street from his parlour window.Nikon FM2, 50mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Nikon FM2, 24mm, Vuji Velvia
     
  
Nikon FM2, 50mm, Fuji Velvia
   
On Saturday afternoons, the town brass band gathers to rehearse at a pagoda in the park. Their repertoire has almost nothing in common with the ensemble featured in Brassed Off!Nikon FM2, 50mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Dairy products are distributed by the government - this man has obviously never heard of Margaret Thatcher the Milk Snatcher!Nikon FM2, 50mm, Fuji Velvia
     
  
A guitarist pauses on his way to work in one of the bars in the old city.Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
   
In Cuba, every house is!Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia