This man was somewhat giving me the eye as I was shooting but perhaps he didn’t realise what a photogenic scene he created by standing at the corner of the beautiful blue wall.
We were outside giving small presents of pens and whatever sweets we had on us to his kids and he was just standing there smiling at us.
Incredibly authentic and picturesque Trinidad has more or less remained unspoilt over the years, with worn cobbled streets still spanning much of the historic heart of the city. Here, the Church of the Holy Trinity takes the place of honour on one end of Plaza Mayor, the main square in the old city.
This man lived a few houses down from the casa de particular we were staying at, and he would spend the majority of his day sat outside his house topless, presumably as respite from the heat of the Cuban sun. He would flash us the friendliest smile and kindest eyes each time we walked past.
This father and son team ran a small shop selling textiles and cuban shirts, although it seemed like mother was doing most of the selling. The boys were most interested in hanging out and feeding tamales to curious Asian travellers.
Mobile drinks salesman, replete with a machete on his belt hook to open up the coconuts for thirsty customers.
As one can probably gather by now, beautiful as Trinidad is, it would be missing the point simply to visit and the see the ‘sights’, nothing in particular has been packaged as an attraction, not in the typical tourist sense of the word anyway. The true magic of the place is the atmosphere, the people, the laid-back lifestyle and the fantastically intriguing sample of humanity on offer.
Check out my other photos of Trinidad and of Cuba in the series.
