Through our travels to Cuba, establishing relationships with Cubans who are like family, and amassing a huge archive of images, Eileen McCarney Muldoon and I have been invited to present an exhibition of our Cuba photographs during the much lauded Festival Internacional de Cine, Gibara in July 2018. This is a great honor indeed! Despite the difficult navigation fo rules and regulations in place because of the trade embargo, specifically getting the work to Cuba, the greatest challenge has been deciding which images to present. Images of people; Cubans who are proud of their heritage of craft, images that show their spirit and resiliency, and their environments lit by the intense Caribbean sun, all these photographs make the selection process difficult indeed.

Craftsman restoring the theatre, Gibara

The festival lasts for a week; it features music & films from all over the world and for the first time, an American exhibition of still photographs. The theme of 'Cuba through an American Lens' is an intangible one; though the Cubans of our images have little in the way of material goods, their lives are full of family, sharing and that rich special element of time...Cubans don't seem to be in a hurry. During a morning walk we might be invited to sit on a stoop feeling the sun warm up the world. Or, the invitation for  a cafe` might be extended through the doorway of a local bar. One lingers during these encounters, feeling a sharing and an acceptance. This is so uniquely Cuban!

For the next month, I will share some of the images that will be shown through Instagram (@chwphoto) and Facebook (cindywilsonphoto). I hope you will join me on this amazing, once in a lifetime journey to The festival Internacional de Film Gibara through these blog postings.

Saying goodbye to Frank, Gibara, Cuba