Tags / Havana

A man trying to figure out why the electricity isn't working in his apartment. Residents rarely have the means to call in professionals to fix things in their homes. They are forced to use whatever materials they can find to make repairs and they take risks trying to repair electrical malfunctions.

This man was hit by a car a few years ago and his right leg was badly injured. After years of serious infections, the decision was made to amputate his leg. Whenever he needs to leave his first floor apartment he has to either drag himself down the crumbling staircase or rely on two strong friends to carry him down. He turned to drink to ease his suffering and although he is no longer in pain, he continues to drink heavily. He relies on begging to survive.

A jumble of small dwellings that have been built onto the original flat roofs, further destabilising the already weakend structures of the buildings

Both the flimsy wooden supports holding buildings up and the vegetation growing in the damp cracks of the buildings can be seen all over Havana.

This woman's apartment is on the ground floor. Although there is the constant risk of the building collapsing, the ground floor rooms often have better light and ventilation.
This woman is taking a break from her dusting and enjoying her cigarette seated next to her window which looks onto the street.

An elderly resident looks down at the stairs leading to her apartment. The original stairs collapsed completely and were replaced by this rickety, homemade staircase. Ten years ago this woman fell down these stairs and broke her shoulder, hip and all her front teeth.

Humidity is one of the major factors in the deterioration of the buildings in Havana.

The Capitolio seen from the roof of the former Hotel Bristol in Central Havana. This 1930’s hotel was abandoned and fell into disrepair. The former employees of the hotel decided to live in the hotel. Every available space is being used, even the shaft of the broken elevator and the empty and cracked roof top swimming pool that is being used as a kitchen.

A man walks through the arcades below a dangerously unstable building that has been inadequately supported by wooden poles.

The inhabitants of this building, which is dangerously close to collapsing, have been evicted. The flimsy wooden poles that prop it up are insufficient and there is a serious risk that the building could topple at any time, injuring or killing people in this busy street in Old Havana.

Residents of a neighbourhood in Old Havana try to stabilise the top of a crumbling building. Debris from this building had recently fell into the street and injured people.

The view from an apartment in the former Hotel Bristol in Central Havana

This woman lives with her paralysed, elderly mother. The daughter is unable to have a paid job because she has to care, full time, for her mother. They rely on hand-outs from neighbors.

A 'limousine-taxi' stops on the side of one of the major roads in Havana, Cuba. In the past, this car would have been used to transport important people, but it is now used as a public transportation that can transport many people at the same time.

A testament to changing times, a vintage American car is parked next to a new generation of automobiles in Cuba. With the new law allowing car importations in the country, people are opting for more modern vehicles.

A Cuban woman looks out of the window of an old taxi in Havana. Its condition is far from the Ferrari logo it displays.

This gas station in Varadero is a popular stop for vehicles going to and coming from Havana. The vintage cars from the 1960's and before are being seen less and less as newer cars are becoming more accessible and popular in Cuba

A variety of vintage cars can be seen at the beach in Cuba.

This engine - and the car it is in - tells a story of ingenuity and resilience. With the embargo, spare parts are hard to come by in Cuba. As a result, car owners have to find ingenious ways to repair their vehicles.

The owner of this old Ford pickup explains that he uses his car to make extra money by transporting goods and people. "Yesterday I was helping a man bring avocados to the city, but today I am taking a family to the seaside," he says.

This old pickup, like many vintage vehicles in Cuba, has seen better days. "I have replaced many of the parts with different vehicles," the owner explains. "Original parts for this kind of truck are almost impossible to find."

This old Opel sits on a Havana sidewalk. Its driver has gone off to run an errand. Its faded paint bears witness to the many years it has spent in the street of Havana.

'Crazy in love,' in Spanish is painted on the back of this old car, driving through Havana, Cuba.

A license plate on a vintage car in Havana, Cuba.

A car waits in traffic near one of the old forts in Havana.

Two vintage cars are painted in a similar ways in the parking lot of a hotel. Vintage cars are sometimes painted in creative ways.

Two tourists driving with the top down are cruising through Havana in an old American car. These vintage cars the tourists's favorites in Cuba.

Well kept, well painted, classic cars are parked in line in one of the central touristic areas in central Havana. Only a few cars from before the 1960's have been kept in such an immaculate condition. These vintage cars cater specifically for tourists.

An old American car drives down a street in downtown Havana.

People walking in the streets of old Havana. Most of the cars in this area are taxis.

Cars from different eras are seen driving on a highway in Havana. Buses are used more than cars outside of Havana. Most Cuban people use public transport, especially for long distances.

A Cuban man drives tourists in Havana in a borrowed car as a way to make extra money.

Many vintaged cars are used in the tourism industry. Vintage taxis cater primarily for tourists in Cuba.

These vintage and modern cars waiting in line illustrate the recent changes in Cuba. After decades of restrictions making it almost impossible to import new vehicles, Cuba finally decided to opening its domestic car market to imports.

The owner of this car adjusts wires under the hood of his car, a ritual he needs to perform to get the car to start. The lack of spare parts (due to the trade embargo) coupled with the age and deterioration of most of these pre-1960's cars and makes maintenance and repair difficult.

Casually parked on the side of the road, this car looks very much like its surroundings in Old Havana - old, dilapidated and forgotten.

Standing as a testament to the embargo, this car, made before the 1960's and still very much functional, sits on the side walk in Havana. Many of these cars, in more or less good condition, can still be seen in the streets of Havana.

A man smoking a cigar is standing next to a building that has completely collapsed. The building next door is still standing and people continue to live and work there.