Havana + Viñales + Viñales Valley + Cayo Levisa | July 2018

“Everything was broken. The streets were broken, the buildings were broken, the stray dogs and cats that dodged between our feet were all broken. The city smelled of hot trash and horse manure, yet I found beauty in every detail and the smile never faded from my face. We explored each avenue and alley of the old city, stopping every few hours to cool our minds and wet our tongues with mojitos or cafe con leche drowned in ice. Our laughter flowed. Our feet walked in rhythm with the salsa drums and the echo of metal horse shoes on pavement. I captured scene after scene through my camera lens, the colors of every shot were dizzying and electric and addictive through my eyes. Havana was old and crippled and she was hurting, the pain seeping out of each crack and corner, but she was alive. And I was alive within her.”

-Tess Thomas, The Laughing Diet; “Cuba Libre”