Los Cubanos

INTRODUCTION

THE CUBANS

Truth is, Cuba looks best from afar. That’s when the frame fills with fifties cars, mile-long cigars and funky Buena Vista bars that keep mambos going for as long as the rum is flowing. But blow it up, pull in real tight, and blackheads and blemishes and rust and shit splatter all over the lens and it’s easy to see that the fenders on that so-cool ’57 Bel Air are rusted right through the candy apple shine, the old lady chewing the fat cigar wouldn’t pose until someone waved a dollar at her, and Guantanamera, Korda’s angelic Che and other cheap measures of Cuban authenticity have infected street corners and park benches ...