Reveals yesterday and probably today as well

Tria Giovan visited Cuba several times in the 1990s and the 120 photos in the book have been selected from the thousands she took during these visits. The photos, now some years old, have assumed a slight green and ochre cast which gives them extra credence as historical evidence.

Giovan went out of her way to capture the everyday, interiors of houses, doorways, a kitchen and bathroom, lounges, bedrooms, queues outside an ice cream kiosk, inside a hairdressers, getting on a bus, kids playing in a park, relaxing on a beach and lots of street shots showing the crumbling infrastructure, years old paint, broken windows with tape over the cracks (several of these).

I thought this was an excellent selection of Cuban photos from the recent past though I wonder how much of this has changed since the photos were originally taken, Cuba imports between 70% and 80% of its food (amazing for what is essentially an agricultural economy) the US prevents the country from joining the IMF or the World Bank so cheap loans to the state aren't available, rationing persists with some food essentials costing virtually nothing though expensive when bought in a local farmer's market. The difference between Cuba and other central American countries is the absence of huge wealth for some and poverty for the majority.

My only criticism is that none of the photos are captioned, were the street scenes taken in Havana, Santiago de Cuba or maybe Camaguey, where was the cinema on page 40 or the train going to on page 159. Despite this minor point I found it an interesting photobook. The presentation is straight forward with one photo a page and well printed by Damiani on matt art paper with a 300 screen.

This book of photos is a worthwhile look back at one countrie's attempt at equality for all and despite the odds still struggling on.