Cuban Visions: A Photo Expedition to Havana, Viñales, and Matanzas / Nov 12-20th, 2023
Highlights:
- Spend two days at an actual working tobacco-growing farm.
- Document all stages of tobacco growing all the way to the drying of the leaves and the rolling of the cigars.
- Photograph the one-of a kind Mogotes, ancient geological formations only found in this part of Cuba.
- Photograph caves and underground rivers
- In Havana we will photograph the Raices Profundas Afro- Cuban dance troupe. A spectacle worthy of any stage in the world.
- Photograph the Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, the top modern dance company on the island.
- Several photo walks including late afternoon at the Malecon, and Street Photo walks in Old Havana and Centro where you'll get your fill of Street Photography.
- The City of Matanzas is know for its confluence of three rivers. There we will do a walk along the waterfront and catch fishermen at work.
- In Matanzas we will visit the very- very Triolet Pharmacy, which dates back to the 1,800s and it is now a pharmaceutical museum.
- Count on our EMS PA team consisting of one Pulitzer-Prize winning instructor, a local photographer as a secondary instructor, a certified official Cuban guide, and a driver who always stays with the bus ensuring the safety of your gear and belongings everywhere we go.
- Full itinerary available upon signing up to the program
Details:
- Total cost TBA
- Single occupancy: $279
- Initial Dep: $1,000 by July 10, 2023 (dep. is non-refundable but fully transferable to another EMS PA programs within 365 calendar days of this program's date)
- Final Payment by August 18th, 2023
- Participants: Min. 8 – Max. 14
Join Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Essdras M Suarez, Cuban photographer and instructor Joel Hernández Marín, and official Cuban guide Karina Sanchez Izquierdo for an inspiring photographic journey into the heart of Cuba while learning to improve the artistic and technical aspects of your photography as you discover your own intuitive photographic vision.
- Capture the architecture and daily life on the streets and in the historic squares in Old Havana/ Habana Vieja and Havana Center/ Centro Habana. And, of course, photograph the ubiquitous and beautifully restored classic American cars, which are tenderly dubbed by Cubans as “almendrones” because of their big sensuous curves.
- Meet and interact with Cuban artists in their studios and enjoy performances by a traditional Afro-Cuban group and modern dance troupe.
- Visit Fusterlandia – the home of painter, and sculptor José Rodriguez Fuster – and delight at how he has decorated his neighborhood into what has described a fairyland of Gaudiesque mosaic art sprinkled with elements of Picasso and Jean Debuffet.
- Take a short ferris ride across the bay to the municipality of Regla, which is known for being an enclave of Santeria and for having a flavor of its own.
- Visit and photograph an early 20th century mansion in the municipality of Vedado. A place frozen in time and seemingly preserved for the sole purpose of still life photography.
- Shoot side by side with a Cuban photographer and share photographic thoughts and perspectives
- Spend time in the western part of the island, the tobacco- growing region of Viñales.
- Photograph the unique Mogotes, ancient geological formation only found in this part of Cuba.
- Document life in a traditional tobacco-growing finca/ farm as we photograph the leave-drying houses and all the intricacies of growing this fabled plant.
- Experience the new spirit of free enterprise as we patronize family- owned restaurants and stay in casas particulars (privately- owned accommodations).
As always, we’ll keep our eyes open for photographic opportunities as we get to know Cubans through our lenses and through our exchanges.
Trip Includes
- 8 days/ 7 nights of accommodations
- Customary gratuities throughout the program
- Meals
- Included 20 meals
- On your own: Two meals
- Ground Transportation
- Lodging in Casa Particulars (Privately Owned Accommodations)
Note: Full itinerary and details available upon booking.
Testimonial: “This was one of the best travel experiences I’ve ever had. Our leader Essdras was outstanding and was able to provide an insight into the Cuban culture that was unique and fascinating. If you take this trip, expect to be shoved out of your comfort zone, in a very good way. Easily the best group leader I’ve ever traveled with, including those from National Geographic and Smithsonian. ” … Ann
SPECIAL NOTE: Our programs are organized through Education Travel Alliance, a company that has been licensed by the US DOT OFAC, Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). It is through agents like ETA that OFAC authorizes registered guests of our programs to legally travel to Cuba to participate and engage in a full-time schedule of authorized exchange and activities while in Cuba. These meaningful interactions between travelers and people are, by design, in support of the Cuban people.
