As the eyes of the world turn to the small but resilient island in the Caribbean Sea, Seeing Cuba offers you the rare opportunity to engage with the Cuban people and discover and explore the country’s cultural diversity and her physical beauty with your camera. Join photographer Elizabeth Opalenik for a memorable journey to this beguiling country before it changes forever.

A tropical paradise with a storied past, where intrigue, romance, and uncertainty are woven into the fabric of everyday life, Cuba is at a turning point in its history. It’s a potent mix of socialism and newly approved private enterprise, and a melding of laid back Caribbean island culture and vibrant big-city life, where chrome-laden vintage American cars from the 1940s and ‘50s are juxtaposed with new Chinese taxis and tour buses.

To offer you unparalleled access to the inhabitants and culture of Cuba, two English-speaking, Havana-based Cuban photographers serve as your local guides and translators for this cultural exploration program. In alliance with Cuba’s premier photographic organization, Fototeca de Cuba, and its director, Nelson Ramírez, our unique program allows U.S. participants to learn about Cuba’s long and colorful history and engage directly with Cubans from all walks of life.

In addition to visiting and interacting with Cubans at the historic sites and cultural centers of Old Havana, we venture to nearby neighborhoods to discover an authentic Cuba that lies beneath the tourist veil. The tree-lined suburban neighborhood of Vedado provides diversity of architecture and living conditions to better understand the Cuban people and their urban lifestyle. A day-long excursion outside Havana allows a close view of the island’s beautiful countryside and offers the unique opportunity to discover rural Cuba through photography.

Join Santa Fe Photographic Workshops for an organized journey through Havana and its surrounding countryside, and experience Seeing Cuba with your own eyes. The music, dance, sports, local produce markets, architectural marvels, stunning landscapes and, most of all, the spirited and gracious Cuban people, are the focus of this program that will enable you to better understand the fascinating country that lies just 90 miles south of Miami.

True to the requirements of our people-to-people license with U.S. Treasury Department, Seeing Cuba focuses on exchanges with the Cuban people and recording their amazing lives with our cameras. There will not be structured photo instruction nor group critiques.