Sunday, January 27, 2008

Cuba on Flickr

I saw another blog’s samples of Cuba photos from Flickr, the Internet’s photo repository, and decided to check it out myself. If you like images of Cuba, you could easily get distracted and spend an afternoon browsing photos from all parts of Cuba, and from several eras.

This one surprised me; a 2005 shot of the mothballed Juragua nuclear plant that a Dutch visitor, Kees de Vos, took from a helicopter in 2005. This is an industrial project that collapsed with the loss of Soviet aid and, unlike the recently reactivated oil refinery nearby in Cienfuegos, there seems to be no talk of resuming work on it.

Then there’s a street scene from a photographer called “Zoom Zoom”…

…and from the small “Cuba before Castro” photo group, a 1958 shot of Paseo del Prado, apparently taken from the Hotel Telegrafo. It comes from the blog Dos Epocas.

And some of the Library of Congress’ photos recently deposited on Flickr were taken in Cuba. Here’s one, circa 1910, of American sailors encamping on O’Reilly, across from the Plaza de Armas on the grounds of the Castillo de la Real Fuerza, a small corner of which is seen at right.

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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 30, 2008 at 11:07 PM

    Regarding the photograph of El Prado - I feel it's important to note that it came from a fascinating little book titled "Recuerdos de la Cuba que Dejamos." Published in the 1960s, it was a common sight in the homes of many exiles - a beautiful reminder of another time.

    Another interesting little piece produced by Cubans in exile was a 33 RPM record titled "El Dia Que Cayo Fidel Castro," which relays the fictional fall of Fidel through simulated newscasts and conversations on an hour-long record. Also produced in the 60s, it serves as a fascinating insight into the hopes of an exile community - be it Russian, Cuban, Vietnamese, Yugoslavian, what have you - there are always current themes that transcend different cultures with similar experiences.

    Best,

    Dos Epocas

    ReplyDelete
  2. Phil PetersJanuary 31, 2008 at 2:08 PM

    Thanks for that information and thanks for your terrific blog.

    ReplyDelete