Havana Street Performers

While in Havana, we really wanted to photograph some locals and were on the lookout for something interesting. We bumped into a gal from San Francisco who had been living in Cuba (and ended up spending an entire day together), and she connected us with her friend who is a local street performer. We were able to meet a whole crew of street performers who make a living dancing and singing in the streets of Havana on a daily basis. We joined them one morning in a crowded dressing room tucked inside a beautiful old building. The walls were lined with fantastic costumes, silly hats, musical instruments, and a ladder to reach them all. We watched the transformation as the performers became twice as tall and much more colorful. The girls strapped on crazy tall stilts like it was no big deal and teetered down the stairs on them. We followed in their footsteps around the city, joined by a crowd of tourists who followed the music out of curiosity. It was a beautiful way to experience the life of a street performer.

- Julia