Magdalena Solé first visited Cuba in 2011 and has returned every year since, enchanted by the place and the people who live in this slender stretch of land. Her photographs reveal the stirrings of transformation, however subtle and hard to see, and reflect a Cuba that is both tough and vulnerable.
Cuba hasta siempre
consists of more than 150 full-color photographs taken by Solé, accompanied by a foreword written by
Time
columnist and travel writer Pico Iyer. With minimal text, this book offers a view of Cuba beyond the tourist trade and the wealthy upper class. The photographs portray everyday settings and people engaged in daily tasks. A visual encounter with magical realism, this collection constructs an atmosphere of pervasive timelessness, a photographic time capsule. Memorabilia and objects from Cuba's revolutionary past linger in the present, while life goes on. These soulful images offer a new visual perspective on Cuba past and present. The
Wall Street Journal
called Solé's images "lushly colorful," "formally striking," "restless," and "electrify[ing]."