In 2017 I was feeling burnt out at work so I took an impromptu trip. I was working as a food photographer in NYC and my job involved going from one restaurant to the next all day long taking photographs of the food. It’s my dream job but even your dream job can be mentally and physically exhausting. I remember being at a restaurant and the 10,000th business owner asked me if they could get copies of the photographs for free and I just had had enough. I’m happy to take one for the team now and again but I can’t run a small business and pay my rent if everyone gets it for free. This was on a Monday and by Wednesday at noon I was in Havana.

Cuba is not a great tourist destination yet but it’s a fascinating place. The trade embargo with the US has left the people of the island trapped in a kind of sleepwalking state for the past 50 years. On the surface it seems like peoples basic needs are met. The government provides food, clothing and shelter but aside from that there doesn’t seem to be much for the people to do for work or leisure. There’s a sense of hunger for more and excitement with the slow unwinding of communism but it can’t come fast enough.

There’s not a lot of tourists things to do in Cuba which suited me perfectly. I spent my week there going to cafes, eating lunches and drinking mojitos and taking photographs of the people that I encountered. I didn’t take a photograph of him out of respect but one of my favorite times was sitting on the plaza and taking to an old man about politics. His English wasn’t very good and my Spanish is terrible but we somehow managed to communicate and talk for over an hour. In a country like Cuba just speaking your mind can be a subversive act. I didn’t take his photograph because of it but I’ll always remember our conversation.

Below are some of the meals that I ate, people that I encountered and scenes that I witnessed. I never did anything with these photographs until now. But I guess that’s what makes them special and helped heal my burnout. I didn’t shoot this project for an assignment, for money or to achieve a career goal. I just shot them for me because I love photography and needed a reminder.