Eyes On the Island

Last November, June Carolyn Erlick spent three weeks in Cuba...

Return to main article:

Last November, June Carolyn Erlick spent three weeks in Cuba, gathering contemporary images of the island and its people. Photography is not an easy medium to practice there: supplies are scarce, and friends rely on friends with access to laboratories to mix the necessary chemicals. Nonetheless, Erlick, publications director for the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, found abundant examples of work that shows Cuba as it is, neither positive images burnished for tourism nor negative ones chosen to make a political point. These selections, made available by the center, are simply slices of Cuban life today, captured by eight Cuban photographers and one American, David Murbach, a 1999-2000 Loeb Fellow who studied Havana’s historic horticulture.

Of her contacts with the photographers, Erlick says, her strongest impression is “how amazingly open the people are, despite the whole image of Cuba as a society where everything is controlled.”             ~The Editors

Most popular

What Trump Means for John Roberts’s Legacy

Executive power is on the docket at the Supreme Court.

This Harvard Scientist Is Changing the Future of Genetic Diseases

David Liu has pioneered breakthroughs in gene editing, creating new therapies that may lead to cures.

The Harvard Professor Who Quantified Democracy

Erica Chenoweth’s data shows how—and when—authoritarians fall.

Explore More From Current Issue

Julie Riew, wearing a white dress, playing guitar and singing into a microphone on stage.

Bringing Korean Stories to Life

Composer Julia Riew writes the musicals she needed to see.

Vivian W. Rong sitting on bench outdoors.

Highlighting Harvard Magazine’s Fellows

The 2025-2026 Ledecky and Summer Undergraduate Fellows

Man, standing in small group of people outside the courthouse, holding a sign that reads "HANDS OFF HARVARD" in red letters

Harvard’s Summer In Court

What Columbia’s settlement means for the University