Driving Through Cuba with Carla: Moments Captured from the Backseat
Nu Movement
716 University Ave.
Jun 7, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

This solo show, consisting of archival color photographic prints by Lucia-Vaune Falsetti will be featured at the Nu Movement Gallery for a First Friday Opening Artist Reception. The exhibition will be on view through July 5, 2019. All receptions are free admission and family friendly. The Artist, Lucia-Vaune Falsetti, states “during the summer of 2017 I traveled to Cuba with my friend Carla. We did whatever we could to stay as far away from state tourism as possible. We stayed in private homes, ate in small privately owned restaurants and took private taxis whenever we could. It was one such taxi ride that is the subject of my exhibit. We had decided to travel to Trinidad from Havana and found a driver going that way through the woman who we were staying with. After collecting our money the driver stepped on the gas and the countryside began to fly by much faster than I had expected. But if you are a seasoned traveler you know that the only thing you can do is hunker down and hope for the best. To distract myself during the four hour, somewhat terrifying drive, I sat in the backseat taking pictures through the pink tinted window with my iPhone. I didn’t expect these images to amount to much but each time I stumbled upon them I noticed something new and interesting. Life is hard in Cuba. Each person is given the equivalent of $30 per month by the government. Approximately 50% of Cuba’s food is imported while at least 50% of its land lies fallow due to government policy that limits land ownership. Diesel is hard to come by so farmers use oxen to work the land. But despite these conditions we felt an unmistakable Joie de vivre. Beauty and joy, music and dancing were part of everyday life. I hope that I captured a small part of this in these images.”