Exiled Cuban Photographer

Posted by Marlon Krieger Photography August 17, 2012

Exiled Cuban Photographer

I have a very intimate relationship with Cuba, having photographed the Island since 2006 I have become very familiar and attune to its stories and way of life. Most often the stories are about miniscule changes within the system that most likely won't make much of a difference to the average Cuban or a new art book out by some photographer who cruised through the island and like so many others before and after him photographing the pop-y, colorful side of the island. Many journalist in Cuba are making a real difference by voicing their opinions in the face of danger. Len's Blog's recent story on Omar Rodruigez Saludes is just one example of the many journalists that have endured harassment and imprisonment for voicing those opinions. Rodruigez received one of the longest sentences of any independent journalist- 27 years. Read the story at Lens Blog

Omar Rodríguez Saludes

"Freedom was in color. That was the indelible memory that Omar Rodríguez Saludes remembered the day he boarded an Iberia flight to Spain from Havana in 2010. Until then, his world was sketched in drab shades of gray, green and white. Those were the colors of his imprisonment: gray for his rags, white for the walls and green for the guards.

“To see any other color was rare,” Mr. Rodríguez Saludes said. “But in that plane, I saw colors. Everyone was dressed regularly. I saw colors I had not seen in a long time.”

Seven years, to be exact. Journalism was the reason for his imprisonment. Specifically, everyday shots of Havana life, far from the gleaming tourist hotels and beaches. His world showed a crumbling city with haggard faces, presided over, Oz-like, by billboards with revolutionary slogans..." Len's Blog