Marité Fuentes // Havana, Cuba

Walking with Marité alongside The Malecón (officially Avenida de Maceo) in Havana, we were looking for the perfect location for our last few frames. The Malecón is a long (about 5 miles, or 8km) stretch of road alongside the coast of Cuba. The Malecón is a sea wall made of reinforced concrete designed to protect Havana, first built when U.S. had temporary military rule over Cuba. 

Little did I know that Havana could also be known as the land of columns, where are a staple in this project. All alongside The Malecón, massive four-story columns stand, as if standing watch over the bay. With the beautiful northern morning light covering this entire strip of road, I just needed to find the perfect set of columns. 

When I saw the unattended bike taxi, called bicitaxis in Cuba, I asked Marité if she would be adventurous enough to post with the bike. She thought I meant for her to ride the parked bicycle, and she excitedly said yes. I had different ideas, but in retrospect, perhaps a combination of her idea of riding the bicitaxi, along with the taxi driver sitting in the rear seat would have been better. Alas, next time. 

With no taxi driver in sight, we started calling around, asking a few locals if they knew where he may be. Nobody seemed to know, and I was starting to think this idea wouldn’t work. Thankfully, with the help of a shrill whistle from a friendly neighbor, the taxi driver poked his head out of his 4th floor window and upon seeing my camera, flashed a big, toothless grin. A few minutes later he came down, rolling up his sleeves, ready to work it for the camera. 

January 25, 2022