Sweetest Bloom

Another from the lily pond photo shoot. I can't get over the bright beautiful colours of these flowers. June '06

Agua Potable

This street shot was taken in Pinar del Rio, a small city about 2 hours west of Havana. This is teh truck that distributes drinking water to the houses. I spent a day there after catching a ride with my friend's dad who had to go to a meeting in Pinar. It is a relatively small place without many travelers. I had about $1.00 worth in Cuban Pesos so I made it my mission to find food sold solely in the Cuban currency and not in dollars which is what tourists usually end up using in dollar stores. With that $1.00 I managed to get about 8-9 mini bananas, a cheesy pizza, two chocolate popsicles, and two blisters in my feet from all the walking and heat. April '06

Lego Roads

The rebuilding of Havana's worn out streets. They have really taken on the challenge of restoring a huge part of old Havana, it is quite beautiful. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the city looks as if a war had occured and the buildings were about to colapse. To me the worn areas of the city are much more interesting than the fancy restored parts. April '06

Bird Sunset No More

From the streets of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. June '06

Midnight Paper Work

Another two shots of father in his accupucture clinic in Xalapa, Veracruz. They were taken with my old film Rebel K2 about a year ago. Winter '05

Father's Patient

My dad has had this skull at his accupuncture clinic for as long as I can rememeber. He bought it when he was finishing medical school in Mexico. I think it's best not to know where it came from. As you can see it has the top part cut off so you can see inside, the funny thing is that the two parts don't quite match. Hmmm... Dec '05

Palms & Cement

One of my first shots from the streets of Havana shortly after I arrived. I was getting a ride from Sofia and Roberto. April '06

For the JPG Magazine I also submited a photo which was part of Red Love. Click below...

Theme: Intimate

Jesica's Kitchen

While in Cuba in April I stayed with my friend Jesica for about a week. I met Jesica two years ago at the ballet school in Havana. Her family offered me a place to stay so I wouldn't have to spend money on a hotel. It was a very intense experience to stay with them both times. It's really difficult to deal with all the questions they ask about life outside of Cuba and eye opening to experience the realities of living in a communist country first hand. April '06

NOTE: We are at 10,000 visits! Thanks to all who've come by and to all who leave comments. I love comments, whether positive or critical. Keep them comming. I hope to give the blog a facelift during the break in December. I'll keep you posted if the site address changes. Andrea

Miniature Ballerinas II

Here's yesterday's little girl along with her friend. They loved it when I brought my camera, they started posing and showing me all of the ballet movements they could do. April '06

Miniature Ballerina

I met this sweet little girl at the Ballet School in Cuba during the course this past spring. She is in the evening arts program that the school runs to get schildren inmersed into ballet before they start officially in the school. It's the most beautiful thing to see all these minuature ballerinas with their double buns, tiny pointe shoes and eager hearts. April '06

Revolution Dust

Findings from the dusty Revoluntion Museum in Havana, Cuba. My aunt donated a propaganda-type pencil that was my opa's to this museum last time she was in Cuba. My cousing Diana and I went to see if they had put it up but it wasn't there. THe good thing is that we got away with paying the Cuban entrace price (about 30 cents) and not the tourist price ( 8 dollars). We said we were studying at the ballet school and when the lady asked if we had student visas, I said that we were studying at the ballet school. It was enough to let us by. April '06

Zeus

This is my dad, Benno George Alvaro, by the sea during one of our beach days this summer. We usually go to this small-fishing-out-of-the-way place called El Farallon, on the coast of Veracruz, Mexico. It's about an hour from Xalapa, where he lives. I'm not sure why he did this face but I liked the sea man/Zeus rugged look.

San Miguel de Allende

Here's Maja resting in the central park of San Miguel de Allende, a tiny picturesque town in Mexico. In the back there is the Mexican equivalent of our hot dog stands. The ladies sell corn, which you can get on a cup or on a stick, dressed with mayonnaise, cheese, lemon, and of course chile.

Barber Shop

During the World Cup, every time Mexico played the entire city came to a stand still for 2 hours. Maja and I were often not stuck to a TV during these times, so as we walked the streets of Mexico City we could see all the little groups huddled around their TV's and every so often communal cheers and roars of frustration. June '06

Chicken Break

Being a chicken is harder than it looks. A scene from the Chapultepec Park in the heard of Mexico City. Chapultepec means grasshopper hill in Nahuatl. It is a huge forested area where there is a zoo, amusement park, lakes, markets, games for kids and trails to go on walks. On the top of a hill there is also the Chapultepec Castle, where Emperor Maximilian and Empress Carlota of Mexico lived in the late 1800s. June '06

The Cahuita News

At the bus stop in Cahuita, a town on the Caribean coast of Costa Rica. Aug '06