The Cuban Black Ballet centers around religious dances that honor the African roots of the group. These are mainly to honor the “orishas”, or African Gods that are still very present in the Cuban society. Contrary to common belief, Cuba is a very religious country, and became more openly tolerant of religious practices in 1990.

Although the island is known mainly for traditional Ballet originally practiced by the Cuban bourgeoisie which existed before the revolution, there are still traditional dance groups, called “folklore”. The Black Ballet is a folklore group. It is mainly made up of dancers and musicians of African descent, and although it does do theater performances, they are most often busy performing in Afro-Cuban religious ceremonies. The dancers, singers, costumes and percussionists are essential to these performances of course, but it is the lead drums that take the show to its maximum intensity, often resulting in the dancers entering states of trance.

As far as visiting the Black Ballet to photograph them, it is entirely dependent on their schedule as they are often traveling around the island on relatively short notice. So – we to be a lucky! For now you can see some fantastic photographs of them on Luis Alarcon’s Bio page.

The red earth of Vinales is the protagonist in the history of this rural area of Cuba. Centuries ago Spanish emigrants, mainly from the Canary Islands, brought their knowledge of tobacco to this region. They also brought their many traditions, including music, cuisine, and even cockfighting.

Traveling to Viñales is to travel to a place of tranquility. In Cuba it is said that the people “of the countryside” have a great nobility and hospitality, and this can be felt in the interactions with them. They are always willing to talk, to invite us to a coffee, to meet the family, etc. From January to May Viñales is filled with green colors. This is the harvest period for the world’s best tobacco and a wonderfully active time to visit and take photographs. Even non-smoking travelers become captivated with the pleasure of sitting down to chat with tobacco in their hands, and even light up a cigar on occasion!

Only 180 Kilometers from Havana, Viñales has become one of the most important tourist centers in the country, offering horseback riding, cave exploration, climbing, organic cuisine and great scenery. But for our purposes on Cuba photo tour, will not be on the tourist routes much, but rather we will visit nearby small towns, friendly families, verdant farms, and other locations where the picture making possibilities are

While baseball was a great love of Fidel and became Cuba’s national pastime much as it did in America, soccer has now become the number one team sport. Boxing however, remains the king of individual sports, and Cuba has a long and storied history of great Olympic champions which is a great source of pride for the Cuban people. There are numerous gyms where boxing is practiced from childhood, and it is impressive how this seemingly brutish sport is so full of discipline, order, and respect for the rival.

Boxing provides one of the few paths for young Cubans to rise above ordinary life and reach for the stars. The training is difficult and the condition of the gyms are not exactly world class. But they do provide an extra element of toughness, and the very real sense of rising up from nothing to make a name for themselves. And for those who do not rise to the top, they have gained valuable experience for living their lives with the heart of a warrior. In the best sense of the word.

We will visit one of the most well known boxing gyms in Havana on tour, and have great access to photograph the activities. Luis will offer tips on what to look for and to capture impressive documentary style images with the purpose of telling a story.