Havana

Chanel goes to Cuba

Chanel goes to Cuba

22 Photos

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.

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Cuban children pursue their dream of joining the circus

Cuban children pursue their dream of joining the circus

18 Photos

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)

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Photographing Old Havana

Photographing Old Havana

17 photos

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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