Culture and Community in Cuba Captured on Film

Photography by Arnau Dubois

Culture and Community in Cuba Captured on Film

This story was originally published under Cottage Hill on August 11th, 2017.

The reopening of Cuba not only provided an exciting destination for US tourists but encouraged many of our creative friends to journey south and beautifully document the country. Photographers, stylists, writers all journeyed to see and experience—most if not all, for the first time.

One of which, Arnau Dubois explored the island with a goal in mind to document not just its beautiful architecture and classic cars, but the people. The portraits he sent us to share with you are some of our favorites ever. One image, one face telling so much without a single word. Here are a few words from Arnau on his trip.

I wanted to document Cuba for a while, being fascinated by their culture and music. I speak fluent Spanish so I was able to commmunicate with a lot of locals. Every time you travel alone, as a backpacker and mix with locals, you learn to accept and open your mind to how things could be different from your own culture. Far from being a supporter of the Cuban regime, I found some important values on it. People are "happy" as in there is a big sense of community, no materialism, no crime, a ton of culture and a slow pace living the life.

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