Walker Evans: Cuba

As an individual who has been present watching countless Cuban young people snorting coke, smoking marijuana, prostituting themselves to tourists to feed their families while eating canned Russian dog food to keep from starving to death, I beg to differ with the basis for his "review". This book simply shows that the Cuban people suffered before the Castrista regime as they certainly continue to suffer today. The book is well done. It is a shame, however, that it was used as a format for Castrista blather and outright lies. I have been there. I have dedicated much of my adult life to the Cuban situation both on the island and in the diaspora and am the mother of two wonderful Cuban-American children whose Cuban family is hungry, NOT ALWAYS SMILING, without healthcare and with a progressively declining level of what was once an excellent educational system. Don't be fooled. If the Cuban people are smiling now, as many were before the revolution, it is because their sense of humor is a part of their resilliance that allows them to survive through one hellish regime after another.

. I first took a look at the photographs in the book and I guess made a few assumptions about the pictures. Then, I actually took the time to really read the whole thing, then my previous opinions changed. See when a person first looks at photograph they don't see everything. After reading the text I really enjoyed what was said about each photograph. The descriptions took the photographs into a different setting and it broadened my view on matters. It was interesting how Carlton Beals, the radical journalist would have described some of the photographs. I was surprised how negative Beals wanted everything to be. Evans just allows the audience to have an open mind when viewing his photos, not like Beals who wants to tell you the way he wants things to be. Regardless, people will have their own opinions about certain photos, but that is what makes photography so interesting. The text is not very long, but it goes a long way in giving insight to the status of Cuba in 1933. After reading and looking at this book I have a better understanding of how Walker Evans works his magic. This is a great book to own!!

Everybody knows the stereotype all too well of the joyous Cubans, with their 8-day Carnavals, incredible music and high culture. As someone who visits the island frequently (my wife lives there) the happiness of the people is so uplifting. The suicide rate is so much lower there. The murder rate is way below that of the US. It is a cocaine-free society because of all of the anti-cocaine canine patrols in the major cities. It's really a revelation being there. No drugs, no homelessness (the right to shelter is guaranteed under the Cuban constitution), a LOWER infant mortality rate than the United States, more doctors per capita than Canada, Sweden, and the US, a 97 per cent literacy rate.This book however is a REAL eye-opener. I have only experienced Cuba after President Castro took office. I have only seen his good work in a country where EVERY schoolhouse now contains at least one Pentium III computer or better (don't you wish you could say the same about the USA?).The fotos inside this book are unbelievable. Absolute abject shoeless, starvation poverty, photos taken from a pre-Castro Cuba. Looks like modern day Haiti, a country which has subjected to US policies from Papa Doc, to Baby Doc, to Aristide, all handpicked by the CIA and look what a mess that country is.These fotos and the commentary inside are a revelation. If you EVER wondered why the people revolted and continue to adore President Castro, buy this book! These fotos don't lie. There is NO ONE living like this in present-day Cuba....

These black and white photos by the famous documentary photographer, Walker Evans, shows what life in Cuba was like before WWII. He captures everyday life in all of its majesty, his subjects ranging from the downtrodden to the affluent. This is a remarkable book of great interest to students of pre-1959 Cuba.