Cuba is a treasure trove of possibility, on the cusp of change, but steeped in tradition and locked in the time warp of almost 60 years of Communist rule.
Cuba is vintage cars, which are not just taxis, but regular modes of transport. Cuba is crumbling architecture, some of which is being painstakingly restored, much of which still in disrepair and is called home for many in Centro Habana. Cuba is art, theater, street life and most of all, music —salsa and rumba, Afro-Cuban jazz and more. Cuba is food, from the fruit carts laden with giant avocados and guayaba, to the inventive paladares (private restaurants) which have grown in number with the lifting of government regulations. Cuba is cigars. Cuba is its people: resilient, creative, smart and welcoming. Many U.S. based airlines are flying to Cuba starting this fall, including United, which will begin Saturday flights from Houston to Havana starting November 29. ALL PHOTOS BY LUANN WILLIAMS
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Kids, Habana Vieja. -
Street life, Centro Habana. -
Vintage cars from the 1950s aren’t just for tourists. -
View of Habana Vieja from Camera Obscura tower. -
View of Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro from The Malecon, Havana. -
Life is lived on the balconies in Havana. -
The largest, greenest and most buttery avocados. -
Life is lived on the balconies in Havana. -
The ubiquitous and beautifully restored classic cars from the 1950s. -
Rolando serves up “the best mojitos in Havana” at the Neptune Bar. -
Rolando and Danilo at Neptune Bar. -
Danilo and his creations at the Neptune Bar. -
Computerized cash registers? Who needs em? -
Life is lived on the balconies in Havana. -
Street art, Havana. -
The beauty in the crumbling buildings. -
Santeria woman, Habana Vieja. -
Beautiful abuela, Centro Habana. -
Cafe con leche. -
Life is lived in the doorways and on the balconies in Havana. -
Life is lived in the doorways and on the balconies in Havana. -
Vintage taxi. -
Pepino y aguacate. -
Old pay phones are ubiquitous and still in use in Cuba. -
Che Guevara remembered. -
Tobacco processing factory in Vinales. -
Roast pig, Vinales. -
Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba, Teatro Bertolt Brecht, Havana. -
Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba, Teatro Bertolt Brecht, Havana. -
Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba, Teatro Bertolt Brecht, Havana. -
Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba, Teatro Bertolt Brecht, Havana. -
Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba, Teatro Bertolt Brecht, Havana.
