Masked Havana: The Beginning of Disenchantment… for the #monomad challenge

Hello, lovers of black and white photography.

Today I’m sharing a series of images taken during the early months of the pandemic, back in 2020. I went out into the streets with my Canon 60D, carrying my 18-55mm, 70-300mm, and 50mm lenses. I was driven by a strange curiosity… I needed to see it, to capture my city, Havana, facing something completely unknown.

At first, I have to admit, there was a strange kind of thrill. Everything was new: empty streets, people hidden behind masks, an unfamiliar silence replacing the usual noise. It was a once in a lifetime scenario. But as time passed, that excitement faded. What I saw wasn’t a city resisting: it was a city slowly sinking.

Transportation became a nightmare. The police were constantly harassing anyone carrying a camera. Prices went up, morale went down. And the hardest part: the resignation in people’s eyes. Even the stray animals seemed to have lost something. I still went out to shoot… but with less and less desire. Photography, once my escape, began to feel like a mirror showing me pain I didn’t want to see.

This post isn’t meant to be cheerful. It’s a testimony. A fragment of frustration, powerlessness, and truth. And even though it was hard to look back at these images, I felt they needed to be shown. Because there is beauty in what’s broken. And because facing disenchantment is also part of a photographer’s journey.

Thanks for joining me.