Chavela Rodriguez // Havana, Cuba
I’m often asked if I do any location scouting prior to shoots, and the short answer is “no”. Of course, I don’t go into a shoot blind, and I have to do some Googling prior to arriving in a foreign city (country). Generally, I’ll look for a popular tourist location with some guaranteed touristy shots, and then find spots to shoot around the tourist location.
In this instance, I was already in Cuba, and I didn’t even have a time-frame or location scheduled with Chavela. A few days before the eventual shoot, I briefly remembered a photo shoot that Annie Leibovitz had done with Rihanna in Cuba, and I Googled out of curiosity. One of the locations mentioned in the shoot was La Guarida, not incorrectly called “La Guardia” like the airport, by me. Truthfully, I didn’t love the photos Annie made at this location, but I did like the location, and was drawn to the entranceway staircase.
Upon arrival 15 minutes before shoot-time, I was stopped at the door by several men, telling me that I would not be able to take pictures here. Bummed, I decided to wait till Chavela arrived, hoping that her connection with the Cuban National Ballet might open up some doors… pun intended. When she arrived, she asks the same questions I asked, but this time was told that we would need to ask the owner of the building, a much better response than a flat out “no”.
We were escorted to the 3rd floor, and the entire time I’m just thinking of what a magnificent building and architecture I was getting to walk through. The walls were literally peeling, full of decades of rich history. The ballroom area was the brightest, with full windows lining the western wall, and the late morning sun pouring in; I knew this would be the spot, if we only were given permission.
After showing the building owner/restaurant manger my portfolio, explaining the project that I was doing, and promising that neither ballerina nor photographer would be naked for the photo shoot, we were granted unfettered access to the building’s beauty, to use as a backdrop with Chavela.
January 26, 2022
