Hungary flag
Honorable Mention BIFA 2019 Editorial / Photo Essay

Cuba

  • Photographer
    Ernesto Bazan
  • Agency / Studio
    Bazanphotos
  • Prize
    Honorable Mention in Editorial / Photo Essay

Since 1992 I have devoted my entire life taking pictures of this transitional time referred to as “el periodo especial.” With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the country was reeling towards an uncertain future, leaving Cubans to face harrowing changes. I have been documenting the feeling of hopelessness that I saw painted on people’s faces. I photographed endless lines, the poverty of their homes and the slipping sense of identity gripping their life. In 2006, I was forced out. In 2016 I magically returned to complete what I left unfinished. This body of work unifies my Cuba past with now.