The people of Cuba are the country’s treasure and its most dynamic force. They are friendly and generous of spirit, resourceful and resilient, and are incredibly open to sharing their personal lives and their country with visitors. This unique people-to-people educational exchange with Jock McDonald—veteran portrait photographer and long-time visitor to Cuba—allows you the opportunity to meet and interact with Cubans from all walks of life. With your camera as your passport, we delve beneath the tourist veil of Havana to better understand this intriguing and complicated country through direct exchanges with the Cuban people.

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 the U.S. participants to learn about Cuba's long and colorful history and engage directly with Cubans from all walks of life.

Throughout the week, shared experiences allow for insightful portraits that strengthen our cultural interactions and reveal the spirit and passion of Cuban people. We visit unique areas in and around Havana, meeting its remarkable people and discovering its natural light and colorful surroundings in locations such as the ciudadelas (little cities) of Old Havana, Centro, Malecón, Monte, Cayo Huseo, Barrio Chino, Vedado, and Cojimar. Against these stunning backdrops and in conjunction with insightful conversations with Cubans living and working in Havana, an authentic portrait of Cuba emerges.

True to the requirements of the people-to-people license with U.S. Treasury Department, Portrait of Cuba focuses on exchanges with the Cuban people and recording their amazing lives with our cameras. There will not be structured photo instruction or group critiques.

JOCK MCDONALD accompanies this program and lends his experience traveling to Cuba over the last 20 years and as a professional photographer for 28 years. His work, in both black-and-white and color, is distinguished by wit, humor, pathos, and qualities of mystery. Jock’s most recent exhibition, “One World Portrait,” was exhibited at the Lehigh University Art Gallery Virtual Gallery 2010. His portraits and depictions of rural life around the world have been widely published and exhibited in the United States, Mexico, Russia, Ukraine, and Cuba. His web site is www.jockmcdonald.com.