Cuba Photography Tour: Havana & Trinidad

Your first view of Cuba is from the plane. You look out the window to find the breeze blowing through the tall, lush grass. Palm trees border the plain. The Sierra del Rosario Mountains roll across the western horizon. The Atlantic Ocean frames the northern edges of the city. The plane lands at Jose Marti International Airport, where your private transfer greets you at baggage claim. Cuba, encapsulated in the city of Havana, takes you on an alluring tour filled with a remarkable history and vibrant spirit. You want to capture the local energy in film before you have even stepped through the doors into the city. Once on the road in the suburbs of Havana, you find murals the colors of the Cuban flag draping walls and edged by untamed grass.

Classic American cars speed down the wide streets near the border of the city center. In Havana Vieja, Old Havana, the asphalt turns to cobblestone. Crumbling building facades line one street while around the corner, renovated colonial structures create a strikingly different image, one that accentuates the former grandeur of the city. After a brief orientation tour of the city streets, your guides lead you to the enchanting restaurant Bodeguita del Medio. A live band plays music in the downstairs bar. Locals and visitors sip sweet and herbaceous mojitos, the restaurant’s specialty. Ernest Hemingway and Nat King Cole enjoyed the succulent dishes and stiff drinks. The flavor of Havana is unmistakable.

Your guide meets you in the morning before the sun has a chance to peek over the horizon. You make your way to the seaside avenue known as the Malecón. Set up your camera facing east. Waves crash against the seawall. Occasionally, water sprays over the wall and splashes against the sidewalk.  The sun begins to lift in the distance, spreading wisps of pink and orange across the sky. The outline of Morro Castle on the edges of Havana Bay shifts from a silhouette to tangible stone. Part of you wants to take the picture; another part of you wants to remember this moment as your own rather than share it with a photograph. After breakfast, you partake in a tour of the historic squares of Old Havana.

The plazas combine the exciting sounds of contemporary life with the classic frame of the colonial neighborhood. You begin the tour at Plaza de la Catedral. The elegant Catedral de San Cristobal crowns the square, flanked by the charming displays of former 18th-century mansions. Blue doors and window frames accent the golden hues of the stone, leading to the stained glass window adorning the center of the cathedral. The Spanish built their first aqueduct in the New World inside the plaza in the 16th century by channeling the Alemendares River to the harbor. Two asymmetrical bell towers frame the baroque façade of the cathedral. The open space of the plaza provides perfect light washing across the bordering edifices.

The Palacio de los Marqueses was erected in the 1700s and acted as Havana’s main post office. The original letterbox remains, protruding from the stones on the wall. The mail depository resembles a historic man, his mouth open and ready to receive the letters. The palace now contains an art gallery with purchasable prints and handicrafts. After an early breakfast, your guide meets you at your hotel and leads you away from Havana, venturing east to the town of Trinidad. The highway opens up to vast beauty outside of the city. You exchange the crumbling facades of Old Havana for the staggered peaks of the Escambray Mountains. You stop at a small farm near the foothills of the mountain range.

The jungle terrain and cooler climate on the mountains provide sensational hiking trails leading to waterfalls, along with the indelible flora and fauna of the region, including bee hummingbirds. Stop in the Valle de los Ingenios, an area of three consecutive valleys encompassing 100 square miles. At the peak of the sugarcane industry in the 19th century, more than 30,000 slaves worked the various mills. More than 70 former sugar mills remain standing. Your guide leads you through the remnants of production that once dominated the landscape. The grounds of Manacas Iznaga, one of the wealthiest barons in Cuba, are preserved. The tall tower of the same name provides visitors with a view of fields reaching the foothills in the distance. Spend the evening enjoying the enriching music in the main square that brings the city to life after sunset.

At sunrise, the streets of the city remain quiet. You venture out with your guide to capture the sleepy avenues before the horses return to the cobblestone. Their hooves clop against the preserved roadways crisscrossing the city. When the sunlight rises above the edges of the historic city center, the pastel colors of antique homes glow beneath the red-tiled rooftops. In the city center, the yellow façade of the Museo Historico Municipal shines the same hue as the sun. Inspiration is everywhere in the city, from the wide unpaved streets on the outskirts of town to the sun-bleached neoclassical façade of the Iglesia Parroquial de la Santisima Trinidad, which is the largest church in Cuba.

The church contains the Senor de la Vera Cruz, an 18th-century wooden statue originally bound for Mexico from Spain. Vaulted ceilings and altars carved from cedar and mahogany shape the intimidating ambiance of the nave. You make your way to the fringe of town and enter a pink house to visit a local artist. His sparse studio allows him to concentrate on the colors and images he wishes to create. He gathers inspiration from the city itself, whether it's music, architecture, or people, including the large Afro-Cuban culture. He continues to work on an unfinished painting and explains every brushstroke in his attempt to bring the beauty of Trinidad to life. After your visit, you wave goodbye to the city and return to the bustling atmosphere of Havana.

The streets of Havana have a quiet allure in the early morning before the music of the city emanates from the cafes, bars, and parks. Children stand on the rooftops of the Old Havana and set their kites to the wind. The kites dance in the sea breeze and are visible from the Malecón. Fishermen stand on the thick walls and cast their lines out to sea, hoping for a blessed morning catch. After breakfast, your guide offers you a unique view of Havana with a visit to a boxing gym. Cracks run along the concrete floor.

Pockets open up the plaster on the walls. A corrugated roof protects the boxing ring from the rain. A small row of punching bags dangles from an overhang on a small patio. Stadium seating surrounds the ring, and air flows from the sea. The gym is the oldest in Havana and teaches kids of all ages the art of boxing, from proper movements to advanced techniques. From behind the lens, you begin to see the art of the sport. The footwork looks like a ballet. The speed of each punch takes focus and training.

Students spar with one another and remain jovial, helping each other through the training process. It is a side of Havana many have overlooked, but boxing remains a popular sport in Cuba, with a rich history of Olympic champions. After lunch, you make your way to Morro Castle, situated on the rocky promontory framing Havana Bay. The castle was erected in the late 16th century and has guarded the city against pirates and foreign navies alike. A lighthouse was added in the 19th century, which continues to brighten the night and guide ships away from the rocks.

Today you wake up early to experience the unique moment of flamenco dances performed in the heart of Cathedral Square. The sun casts an asymmetrical shadow over the bordering buildings. The lighter the day gets, the brighter the accenting blue of the windows and doors radiates. The women wear bright costumes that hug their figure and taper at their ankle. Ruffles layer the skirt and sleeves. Cuban flare makes the dresses more vibrant, preferring a pastel pink to the traditional red and black. The plaza is silent.

The vibrant clothing of the performers draws your attention away from the beauty of the cathedral. Then the guitar strums. The dancers tap their feet slowly. The sound of their heel against the cobblestone echoes across the plaza. The guitar moves faster. The dancers’ feet keep pace with the guitar. Soon the dancers tap their heels faster than you can clap your hands, which keeps the beat of the music. Their ruffled dresses sway against the still cathedral in the background, pronouncing the movement even more. The sunlight frames the dancers. They flutter their fans in front of their faces when the dance has finished. The old world of Spain continues to influence the beauty of contemporary Cuba.

On your final full day in Havana, you wish to take your camera out into the city and capture as much of the life as you can. The quiet mornings have lent themselves to you as if the city was yours and no one else’s. Before breakfast, you return to the Malecón to watch the fishermen cast their lines into the water. In the background, the high-rises of the Vedado district contrast the colonial architecture of Old Havana. With the day at your leisure to discover Havana, you make your way to Colon Cemetery, which encompasses 14 acres of land with more than 500 mausoleums and family faults.

The cemetery grounds were consecrated in the 19th century and remain one of the most important cemeteries in the Latin America. Trees shade the major avenues bisecting at the center of the grounds, dividing the cemetery into quarters. An octagonal chapel stands at the center of the intersection, the only of its kind in Havana. Elegant and telling tombs stand above the tropical soil, providing resting places for some of Cuba’s historical figures. A monument commemorates the veterans of the Independence Wars.

The village of Cojimar is known as a fishing village, along with its use as the setting for Hemingway’s novel The Old Man and the Sea. It is also the place where the writer kept his yacht. A small gazebo holds a commemorative bust. Fishermen had donated old propellers to the artist who melted down the metal to shape the art piece. A photography studio displays the work of famous Cuban photographer Raul Corrales Jr. The artist captured many things, including daily life in the village along the city park waterfront. Old men play dominoes surrounded by the sounds of the sea. Today your private transfer greets you at the hotel and escorts you to Jose Marti International Airport for your flight home. You have experienced the culture of Cuba and captured the images of an extraordinary world.