The remains of former Cuban President Fidel Castro were buried December 4, 2016 in Santiago de Cuba, after journeying across Cuba from Havana to their final resting place. Sunday marked the last of a nine-day mourning period after Castro died November 25 at the age of 90.
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Few are as creative as what Havana’s fishermen call “balloon fishing,” a technique employing a couple of cents worth of condoms to pull fish worth an average month’s salary from the ocean.
Karl Lagerfeld, fashion icon, has officially pronounced Cuba “in” for fall. The Chanel creative director and enthusiastic cat owner traveled to Havana with a fleet of models including Gisele and actors including Tilda Swinton, to present a glitter-heavy show in the city’s Paseo del Prado that harkened back to the days of Ernest Hemingway, or perhaps Dirty Dancing Havana Nights. If the show is anything to go by, you can bring your fedora out of hiding, or maybe plan on a sassy beret a la Che Guevara? According to AP, “With the heart of the Cuban capital effectively privatized by an international corporation under the watchful eye of the Cuban state, the premiere of Chanel 2016/2017 ‘cruise’ line offered a startling sight in a country officially dedicated to social equality and the rejection of material wealth.” Translation: Somewhere, Che is turning in his grave.
Once banned in Cuba, the Rolling Stones played a free concert in Havana on March 26, 2016, before thousands of fans.
President Barack Obama’s visit to Cuba is the first in nearly 90 years for a sitting president, the last one being Calvin Coolidge.
The United States and Cuba formally resumed diplomatic relations Monday, as Cuba’s blue, red, and white-starred flag was hoisted at the country’s embassy in Washington in a symbolic move signaling the start of a new post-Cold War era in U.S.-Cuba relations.
The day in photos from around the world.
Inside an abandoned movie theatre on a noisy avenue in a working-class section of Havana, some 70 Cuban children as young as nine pursue their dream of joining the circus. The circus is a lucrative career path and a rare opportunity for Cubans to make real money on the communist-led island.
(Photos by Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters)
Baltimore photographer Lisa Dierolf Shires recently visited Cuba’s capital Havana on a photography trip in February. Shires and a fellow photographer friend did the research, practiced their Spanish and came up with a logistical plan. The duo made it to Cuba by way of Cancun – barely making their flight after they ran into complications in purchasing their tickets in Mexico. After converting Canadian dollars to Mexican pesos for flights at a terrible exchange rate and adapting to changes in original plans and funds, they focused their stay in the capital city. “The people were very patient with our Spanish and were very kind,” Shires said. “There was a separation between old and young on the contentment of the condition of the country.” The difference being that the younger generation was ready for change and access to information, she explained.
The Darkroom caught up with Shires who talked about Old Havana, its people, culture and daily life in a post-Fidel Castro Cuba.
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