In 2019, I traveled to Cuba with my friends Danny Klimetz and Alex Zyuzikov, both of whom are also wonderful photographers. Danny organized the Cuba travel experience but we also meandered around to capture the scenes of the city separately at times. Before visiting, I had heard that Cuba feels like a place trapped in the past because of all the old cars, and limited technology. In truth, it felt like a blend of old tech and new-ish. As I understand it, mobile technology was virtually non-existent as of a few years ago, but was quite a bit more prevalent. Albeit, expensive. In the midst of the streets you’d see cars with chassis from the 50s and 60s alongside people standing with cell phones.

One highlight was heading out to Viñales, a nearby town with a few tobacco farms that we were able to visit. At one of the locations, we were given a cigar rolling demonstration (and samples). I’m not a cigar connoisseur, but I assume they were good because it didn’t burn my throat when I smoked (that’s a thing, right?). Anyway, seeing Cuba was amazing – the streets were lively and colorful, the food was great, and the people were lovely. One of these days, I’ll have to return to see more of the country.