Alex Webb: Artist Statement

In Spanish the word esperando translates as both “waiting” and “hoping,” a layered meaning that starts to get at the Cuba I’ve photographed for the last decade.

I first went to Cuba in 1993, shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Cuba had grown dependent on Soviet aid, and without its support the island fell into economic hardship. Despite evidence of this strain, I was struck by the vitality of the people.

I traveled all around—to the east of the island, to Santiago, Contremaestre, and near Guantanamo, as well as to areas closer to Havana, such as Trinidad, Cienfuegos, and Sancti Spiritu. But I was particularly taken with Havana. Since 1975, I had photographed extensively in the Caribbean and it was clear to me that Havana is the Caribbean’s great city, with a unique weight and majesty.

I was captivated by the island in 1993, but was deterred by the fact that so many photographers in the nineties seemed to want to photograph in Cuba. It was only seven years later, in 2000, when teaching a photography workshop in Havana, that my initial fascination with Cuba deepened into something more complex and emotionally meaningful. Since then I have returned to Cuba and photographed every year.

Each time I go, I wander the streets, especially Havana’s, working spontaneously, allowing the camera to lead me where it will. I respond to the rhythms of street life, above all to the sense of waiting in Cuba, a sense that seems to pervade the society. Cubans hang out. There is not a lot of work. But beyond that, there seems to be a more metaphorical kind of waiting—an uncertainty about the future. With Castro in his waning years, this is a unique time in Cuba’s history. What does the future hold for this complicated island?