In February of 2016 after six days of roaming the streets of Havana, Cuba, documenting the people and the changes occurring since the announcement of renewed relations with the United States, I entered the  Bosque de la Habana (Havana’s Forest).

 

Near the park’s entrance were faded food pavilions and gazebos that hinted at the history of a lush space which once served as a verdant oasis for families to go on weekends.  Deeper into the forest, along the Almendares River, I followed a walkway where I could imagine young couples and lovers once strolling in evenings past. 

 

The true beauty of the park, however, lay in its deepest recesses, where over the years vines and new growth have combined with old growth, forming strange enchanted creatures and structures which have a life of their own.  The forest appeared to me to be a metaphor for Cuba today.

 

 

Conrad Gees