The Cuban Woman, portraits - for women, November 3-10, 2023 & Mar 25-Ap 1

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“Que pais” (what a country!) This cynical phrase comes from a cartoon show all Cubans know and love. It has become a phrase that speaks to the conundrum of extremes they face daily, and no one rises to this challenge more effectively than Cuban women. While Cuba is a macho-driven society on the surface, the engine, heart, and soul are its women. Passionate, nurturing, professional, motivated, proud, creative, feminine, sensual, patient, and realistic are just a few traits that come to mind. Like everywhere in the world, they are the dominant component of the equation of life. 

But in Cuba, a sophisticated and modern society under constant economic pressure, women are the fabric that holds it together. They juggle everything in their lives and still manage to keep their individuality. They raise children, care for their elders, clean house, clean clothes, hold a job, put food on the table, and somehow manage to have a little left over for themselves, even if it is only evident on their fingers and toenails. Looking closely, you will find something that sets them apart as individuals. A particular part or presentation says, “Viste (Hey, see me)!” 

Join Claudia Corrales, Leysis Quesada, and other Cuban women photographers as they take you into the homes, shops, offices, and studios of Cuban women of all ages and walks of life to make meaningful and insightful portraits. This small group experience is just for women and will be in Havana and its suburbs. Lodging will be in a private and elegant“hostel” (a private inn) located on the border of Havana Central and Havana Vieja. You will be right in the midst of the Havana experience.

Claudia Corrales was born in 1987 into a family of photographers and artists and learned to appreciate photography from a young age. Her grandfather was the famous Cuban photographer Raul Corrales. 

After graduating from the University of Havana in 2010 with a degree in Social Communication, Claudia has dedicated herself professionally to photography. Her work has been published in numerous magazines and books and exhibited in Cuba and abroad, where she finds a diverse market in private and public collections. Her creative work has expanded to include photography, video, and custom installations. Current social and environmental subjects such as human migrations, climate change, gender violence, social equity, and world conflict fuel her passion for her projects.

As a principal in The Raul Corrales 

Gallery in Havana, Claudia oversees the gallery, which serves as an archive and outlet for her Grandfather’s historical collection. The gallery also serves as a center for encouraging and educating new Cuban photographic talent.

Leysis Quesada Vera was born in 1973. She lived in a small village, San Francisco, in the south of Matanzas province until she was seven, and the family moved to Amarillas. 

She graduated with a degree in English (1996), has been a self-taught photographer since 2000, and is a Member of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC). Leysis incorporates her life into her work, the people around her, especially her daughters Avril and Mia, are her greatest inspiration.

She has developed several national and international exhibitions and has obtained notable recognitions throughout her career, including the Tito Álvarez Creation Scholarship from UNEAC 2011, a nomination for the 2016 Magnum Emergency Funds Grants, a scholarship from The Foundation for a Civil Society (FCS) for FotoFest 2016, Magnum Foundation Scholarship 2021, and a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation for the photo essay: “Cuba during the pandemic” published in The Guardian newspaper; The Annenberg Space for Photography in 2017 highlighted Leysis’s images in the exhibition "Cuba is.” Her work has been exhibited in countries such as Norway, Australia, the United States, Germany, Spain, Austria, Mexico, and Cuba, and her work has also been collected by private and institutional collections worldwide.