Cuba

We passed through central Cuba on a People to People Mission in January 2019. This is a typical farm in the central valley of Cuba where the soil is rich but the people and resources are very poor. Land is not owned and no tractors or pesticides are available. Just manual labor a few animals are all that is available to produce limited crops. This painted effects art image was made in July 2021.

Early morning shower on the rural highway between Trinidad and Santa Clara, Cuba. Our tour bus driver navigated with skill, usually cruising at 55mph. With my front row seat I had occasional white knuckle moments rising over a hilltop, to find situations like this, where a horse cart set the speed limits/road hazard. At times we crawled behind the cart for a few miles until the opposing traffic allowed us room to pass. You can see the cart drivers whip, which was frequently applied to the poor animal. The abandoned roadside cart makes me wonder if the horse gave out or it was hopefully just a mechanical breakdown.

If you like this image be sure to visit my Classic Cuba Car Art Series in the new Works Gallery. Also, in the Tips-n-Fx section there is a special effects (Fx) section on making “mash-ups” of two photos placing a car into a different photo background.