Chango Gallery
Trinidad, Cuba 2005
® Carlos Benet
Different people, different ways of thinking, different perceptions, different ways of seeing and interpreting reality, different ways of molding it, different ages, different cultures, a common thread… Like magician’s tricks, like acrobats playing with light (f stops, shutter speeds), we tried to capture time, to freeze spaces in a small piece of plastic emulsion; we showed forms, textures, grays, whites and blacks, different ways of observing, of feeling, of transmitting sensations, from the most abstracts to the most perceptive realities.
Bewitched by the magic of the power of time, of the power to observe, to feel, to imagine, to try to handle lights and shadows, we traveled to the most daily places trying to search for another way of seeing that will make us feel something different, another way of looking at the same and click…we have already gotten a newer vision.
We filled ourselves with images that afterward we repeat them in our mind. Carlos Benet
® Francesca Partesi
It was a last-minute trip without knowing well what I’d have found. Then, the day of my return back to Italy, I looked behind me and I saw all that I was leaving: the streets’ conversations with whoever I’d meet, the smiles that were shining on the ambered faces, the happy sensuality of music and the sensation to be for real in that place and not being a simple “visitor”.
But the most important thing, thanks to Ernesto, I was able to catch those unique moments in the fabric of my imagination; I’ve learned things that I’d have never imagined and I was able to capture moments of daily life in a totally different optic. It has been wonderful to be part of this group. Thanks again. Francesca Partesi
® Mia Tran
The impressions and experiences I take away with me: a karate class attended by young and old; a young, single, pregnant woman excited to watch CSI; little kids playing paddle-ball with their mouths wide open; a blond dwarf on hot wheels who chased me into a house; an albino horse standing sadly exposed under the hot sun; rich espresso every day, all the time; senior citizens who love to dance and won’t take no for an answer; deciphering the enigma of Cuban Spanish; large, broken, dated eyeglasses on wrinkled faces; certain fascinatingly tall and stretched-out-looking Cubans with the longest necks in the world; the striking, milky blue-green eyes on many tanned, leathery faces; the statues of José Martí punctuating the landscape of many an institution; children boxing; cocks fighting; homemade-kite-flying; a horseback ride into the valley; a carbon-monoxide-laced steam train ride into the valley; brightly colored cakes sold on the street; people eating fresh bread straight out of their hands; singing Christmas carols in Spanish with a group of 12-year-old girls; the most delicious fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice ever, made by people who believe in the healing power of water; the fresh scent of horse manure; the yummy, chewy, drippy curiosity of Cuban pizza; young girls dreamily putting on a fashion show.
What I got out of my time in Cuba was profound. I got a more refined sense of composition due to Ernesto’s unrelentingly perfectionistic editing criteria. But one hears about the “real Cuba”– and maybe that’s a tourist-oriented fiction too– but I felt that I did experience that. Cuba was a challenge, both exciting and frustrating. Exciting not only because of the crazy cars and stunning old buildings and the overall feeling of being in a time warp. But exciting because Cubans don’t have the privilege of being inhibited — it was a novel experience for me to randomly walk into someone’s home, be seen by the inhabitant, and then have them gently gesture at me to come in further. My experience, however, was also frustrating: I felt, at times, that I couldn’t have an innocent conversation without being asked for money in the end; and, on the other hand, because I couldn’t help as many people out as I would have liked to. But all in all, what I remark on most was the lack of materialism of the people–that they didn’t really care what kind of clothes I wore or that my Spanish was not so good. They just enjoyed hanging out and having a good time. Good or bad, all my little experiences were memorable. Though I don’t speak much Spanish, I definitely did not feel insulated…I was able to at least try and go a little deeper, be more attuned to the atmosphere. I only hope that my photographs have begun to do the same. That Mia
® Roberto Tognella
Can one concentrate in only ten days so many emotions that in the daily boring routine you don’t even expect to happen in a whole year? It happens in Cuba with Carlos, Francesca, Mia, Steve, Vincent e Willem. We didn’t have the time to get to know one another, we simply became friends. And it couldn’t have been otherwise.
Cubans didn’t allow keeping a distance as we usually do in the West. They disarmed us with their spontaneity, their sweetness, and their robust humanity. We couldn’t do any other thing that opening up our heart, let ourselves go. Some metamorphosis took place in all of us. It was moving to see myself blossoming, to see the others blossoming. We took picture for real! Ernesto knew that it would have happened because when he explained to us the meaning of street photography he told us to photograph with our heart. I was right to write to him that during this workshop in Cuba he was playing at home… Roberto Tognella
® Stephen Dyer
® Vincent Goh
Ernesto, since I returned home more than a week ago, I find myself still struggling to put together all my thoughts about the amazing journey that was your workshop.
It is very difficult indeed to convey in words the marvel of the time and experiences that I had, a time and experience that I will always cherished.
There is no doubt that I’ve made the right decision to participate in your workshop. To experiencing Cuba on top of it, it is something more than I bargained for.
The closest I can get to describing it all is that you have performed a sophisticated eye laser surgery on me, and also reprogrammed, upgraded and installed a new visual language software called “Seeing beyond Seeing” in my old heart disk. Because I came home with a new a set of eyes, increased awareness and a renewed sense of direction, totally inspired and enlightened.
I am also truly amazed that I was able to survive the 11 days of pressured and intense workshop crammed with 7 to 10 hours of daily shooting, your teachings and group activities. The energy I found to do this must have been derived from the group’s positive energy, passion and inspirations.
I would not have been able to see the real Trinidad if not for your workshop and connections. And now Trinidad has a very special place in my heart.
One very real experience for me was Changòs and his religious celebration within the Santeria religion. Its intense moments soaked and immersed in a sea of perspiration under the beats of the hypnotic drums, the dance of the spirits and their complexities. These are all things cameras and film cannot capture. They are, I feel, best left to be experienced.
Cuba has left me with a deep impression, especially the Cubano sprit: “Toma el dia y Vive la Vida al Maximo”, for I am still suffering from ‘Cuba fever’.
As the saying goes: all good things must come to an end. For me, however, my photographic journey has just begun, with the new level of awareness you have gifted me.
Maestro Ernesto, thank you for showing me the way. Your humble student, Vincent Goh
® Willem Kuijpers
Finally I get a bit at ease now…. The first week of the New Year has ended and everything seems to go back to normal.
More and more I start realizing how special Cuba was. How rich poor people can be and how poor rich people can be…
After about 25 years of commercial photography, a new dimension has come into my life/work both as a photographer and a human being. I even understand what’s wrong with a lot of my photos especially the ones that I made in Sicily during the Easter processions.
Now I’ve started to throw away most of my work in the “garbage” and hope to find some diamonds in between. It’s still quite difficult to “kill some of my darlings”.
Monday my Spanish lessons will start again and I will for sure start preparing for my next Cuban Experience sometimes in the future… Willem Kuijpers
