Peter Dench talks to photographer Ian Longthorne about his 2022 trip to Cuba
Joel Meyerowitz, Burt Glinn and Martin Parr are just some of the many renowned photographers who have made the pilgrimage to Cuba. Steve McCurry first travelled there in 2010 and has since made multiple trips, drawn to the energetic scenes and people. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982, Old Havana, known locally as La Habana Vieja, is a time capsule of vintage cars and amazing architecture. Its lens lure is far reaching.
Based in Berkshire 4,607 miles away, Ian Longthorne is one of the few remaining full-time staff press photographers. He has worked for the Maidenhead Advertiser and the Slough & Windsor Express for 14 years, where he has photographed everything from the homecoming of Olympic heroes and Muslim communities observing Ramadan to the funeral procession of Queen Elizabeth II.
Last year, Longthorne set off for three weeks photographing the people across the Pearl of the Antilles; in the cemetery, dance studios, barber shops and boxing clubs. ‘I visited the Rafael Trejo Boxing Gym in Havana on three occasions and was generously given free rein to photograph portraits of the boxers and in action,’ he says. ‘I just turned up on spec and they were quite happy to be photographed posing. All they asked for was any medical supplies I had, so I went back with things like antiseptics and shower gels.’
Mapping a route
Longthorne started in Havana and journeyed around the east of the island in a loop, stopping at major towns and cities then continuing west to Viñales before returning to the capital. ‘I met up with a small group, some Americans and Australians, and travelled a bit with them,’ he recalls. ‘Luckily they weren’t that into photography! Sometimes I travelled with a guide, and I wouldn’t have got to a lot of places without their knowledge. I had some time on a bus, as driving isn’t a good idea out there – the roads aren’t always great.
‘I stayed in Guest Houses. Like AirBnB, they have rooms for travellers or tourists in their houses. There are hotels but this way you get to meet the people a bit more, staying in their homes, having breakfast with them,’ he adds.
Before departing for Cuba, Longthorne was unsure whether to shoot in colour or black & white. When he arrived, the place screamed colour. He shot mainly digitally, on a Fujifilm X100F, but o
