The Cubans of the future will also have to turn to Zambrana’s photographs to know what we were like when the imperfect beings of today dreamed of them.
Armando Zambrana was born in 1962 in Havana, the city where he lives and has created most of his work, which is nourished by street events, the daily pulse of his ordinary characters, simple beings who carry out the hard job of living in quite unfavorable conditions.
Zambrana is a hunter of moments. It seems as if the photographs were offering themselves to him, that he only presses the shutter and obtains the aesthetically achieved image, that of multiple interpretations, which makes us stop and reflect. But we know that is not so. His trained eye selects angles, chooses the light, decides the speed with which the diaphragm must open and close, in an act that has resulted from continued exercise, constant study, and ― perhaps most importantly ― his alert conscience of witness. He is a man who sets the flashes of reality that most sensitize him, that exalt or injure him, but that he must capture at all costs.
I am sure that the Cubans of the future will also have to turn to Zambrana’s photographs to know what we were like when the imperfect beings of today dreamed of them.
In passing, before giving him the floor and the space to show his images, I will say that our photographer works in the Office of the City Historian, an activity that he alternates with collaborations in national publications such as Salsa Cubana, Revista Tablas, and Opus Habana. Of the many awards he has obtained, we highlight two: First Prize in the Chenard Piña contest of the Union of Journalists of Cuba (1993); and First Prize from the University of Quito, Ecuador, at the Expo Cuba Siglo XX (1999). In addition to documentary photography, he has cultivated architectural and theatrical photography.
I started photography in the 1980s, as a photojournalist for Bohemia magazine; there, in its analog laboratory, I learned the secrets of the trade. Then I studied for a degree in Visual Communication.
Press photography constitutes the support of my work in the world of images. For this reason, street photography is the main source from which I draw to communicate, develop, and reflect states of mind in the multiplicity of contexts that document social reality in its diverse circumstances; in these pieces, the subjects assume the leading role in their relationship with certain objects and scenarios that encourage dialogue, reflection and interpretation by the viewer.
What I show below are photos belonging to three of my series.
[Photo captions are from the interviewee].
A family watches the visit of then-President Obama to Havana on television. “Convocatoria” (Convocation), Havana, 2016. From the “Free” series.The reflection of a woman in the mirror of a salesman at the door of the house. N/t, Havana, 2007. From the “Free” series.A mother takes a TV set to be repaired. In the same construction cart that she used to transport the set, she changes her baby’s diaper and puts him to bed while she waits for her turn. “Sueños de cemento” (Cement dreams), Havana, 1996. From the “Cuba por dentro” (Cuba inside) series.A boy plays during a downpour on the porch of his house. He covers himself with an old towel. “Me llueve el alma” (My soul is raining), Havana, 1997. From the “Cuba por interior” series.A man stares at me when the car he is traveling in stops in front of the then Payret movie theater. “La Muerte” (Death), Havana, 2006. From the “Free” series.A pioneer greets me while I take the photo of a bricklayer who, at the same time, is being watched attentively by the heroes in the paintings, on the wall of a family home. “Contemplación viva” (Living Contemplation), Havana, 2011. From the “Free” series.A pregnant woman poses with the doll that will be for her unborn girl. “Centinela de la inocencia” (Sentinel of Innocence), Havana, 2010. From the series “Pequeños pecados” (Little Sins).During a move, a portrait of Che is moved from one end of the city to the other, among the few valuable belongings of its owner. “El viaje” (The journey), Havana, 2022. From the “Free” series.The variety of Cuban streets, their people, pustules and joys…. “Amo Cuba” (I Love Cuba), Havana, 2006. From the “Free” series.A man stands between the lens and the scene I intended to portray… And the result of the image considerably improved! Towards and backward the initial purpose of showing one of the domes of the Alicia Alonso theater and the feet of a street sweeper is achieved. “Kilómetro Cero” (Kilometer zero), Havana, 2007. From the series “Cuba por dentro” (Cuba inside).A shoe repair shop where workers, apparently, find love at first sight. “La Popular,” Havana, 2008.Reflection of everyday life. Subject trying to sell fresh fish in Compostela, one of the streets of Havana. “Permuta” (House swap), Havana, 2014. From the “Free” series.A bag repairman shows the way to his client. The photo shows the counterpoint between the poster and the woman’s t-shirt. “Antagonismo” (Antagonism), Havana, 2012. From the “Free” series.In a Havana tenement house, an old TV set, an extinct model, is being repaired. The neighbors do everything possible to get the set working again. “Proceratosaurus,” Havana, 2010. From the “Free” series.Armando Zambrana. Photo: Courtesy of the artist.
Alex Fleites
