Havana Noir - A Photo Story

This is Seeing., a newsletter for photography, writing, and explorations by Johanna Renoth. I created it because I wanted a calm place online to share beautiful things and everything I’m curious about.

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Enjoy! - Johanna.

When I travel, I go deep.

I love to stay in a place for a while and soak up everything there is to see. Ten European cities in weeks? Urgh! That’s better suited for somebody else. I’m hugely content with a slower pace that lets me dig and experience a place deeply.

Beyond Old Houses: Going Deep on Havana

A couple of years ago, when I was digital nomading in Latin America, I passed through Havana several times. Every time I was there, I made sure to stay for a while. I wanted to see how this city evolved and work on a personal photo project.

More so, I wanted to peek behind the facade of old cars and colorful houses. Cuba is a complicated, interesting, and lively place. Speaking Spanish well, I managed to go deep.

I encountered a place that’s intense.

Intensely passionate about everything. Intensely pressured by political forces internal and external. And, intensely passionate in its drive to move forward and persevere.

The more I learned, the more tired I grew of taking photos of crumbling colonial buildings and vintage Chevrolets. Havana had become something else to me. Gritty, a little dark with a seedy underbelly, and rich with contrast.

Black and white felt like a much better fit for photographing this multifaceted town.

Here’s a perspective on Havana you haven’t seen before.

Havana Noir

Come to Cuba with me for a moment!

In a quiet corner of the old town, a small patch of jungle offers a moment of respite. Havana’s older parts are densely populated. A place of calm and momentary solitude is rare. When you find it, preferably with shade, it’s wonderful.

I ventured all over Havana in my stays. The old town is where most tourists go. The farther out I ventured, the more the landscape and daily life changed. I went from sweating in the narrow streets of the old town to enjoying the breeze amidst the wide boulevards and 1950s style American bungalows in a part of town called Vedado.

These postcards I found in the old town keep the spark of Che and Fidel alive. Or, more likely, they just give visitors what they’re looking for: a slice of nostalgia for the revolution to send home.

Here he is again. I really liked the different textures in the walls, column, rolls of paper, and wood in this photo. At first glance, the rolls of paper create the illusion of Che really standing there in a black turtleneck with his arms crossed. Can you see it?

Maintaining the old buildings in Havana is a task and a half. The humid climate and sea water take their toll on them. As an added challenge, building materials are hard to come by under the embargo and the government has engaged in its fair share of neglect. Cubans had to become very resourceful to maintain their houses. So much so that when I met an Italian architecture researcher in a café he told me that he was there to study which of the ingenious Cubans’ restoration techniques could be applied to old Italian churches.

The more I learned, the more I fell out of love with the romance of dilapidated buildings that draws visitors to the island. Locals kept telling me stories about buildings collapsing in the old parts of Havana. This report from 2023 talks about how the situation has become more challenging. What looks intriguing to the outsider is a decades-long housing crisis for the locals.

A military style shirt baking in the sun. I don’t remember whether somebody had left it hanging out to dry or whether it was for sale. I was drawn to this scene because of the different textures in the walls and the intense play of light and shadow.

Here is one photo of an old car against the facade of an old building. At the end of the day, I couldn’t help it. You stumble upon these scenes every other minute. It’s almost like you have to make a conscious effort to avoid the cliché.

The ocean is ever present on the island. It’s a limiting force, an aqueous wall that traps people on this island as much as it gives rise to imagination and possibilities for leaving. Here it’s splashing against Havana’s famous promenade, the malecón.

I enjoy sharing photos and stories from my travels with you!

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Have a lovely day,

Johanna

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