Jazzmin Brooks is a Communication Studies student with a minor in Media Production. She recently participated in the CAMD Goes Global Photo Challenge and submitted this photo from her recent travels in Havana, Cuba while studying photography through the “Cuba y La Fotografía” Dialogue of Civilizations summer session. Here’s what she had to say about her experience:
“While wandering the streets of Havana Vieja (Old Havana), I came across this beautiful old woman. She was sitting on a stoop alone with two cigars next to her. I asked, “ te puedo tomar una foto por favor” and she proceeded to put the cigar in her mouth, nod her head and gaze into the camera. From the time I took this photo I knew it was one of my favorites, it was going to be included in my final portfolio and was one of the most powerful of all my pictures I took during my time in Cuba. Her facial expression is commanding, it captivates and draws the viewer into the photo. The wrinkles as well as the look on her face speak to all the things I can’t possibly imagine she has seen over her many years. While I do not know this woman personally, I felt close to her through taking her picture and aptly named her Mi Abuela Cubana (my Cuban grandmother).
Studying abroad in Cuba opened my eyes to things about my country as well as myself. For the first time in all of my travels (Paris, Tokyo and London), I felt truly uncomfortable, and out of my comfort zone. This trip challenged me to take a step back and enjoy the beauty in a slower pace of life. It also allowed me to be truly grateful for the possessions and privileges I have. Every day I walked the streets of Havana and saw people with nothing have a smile on their face, while I was distraught about the lack of a wireless internet connection. Moments like those put things in perspective because people with so little still kept a smile on their face as if they had so much. Moments like that made me slow down, and be grateful and appreciative. I came back to America humbled by my experience as well as more conscious of the world around me. As people in an industrialized, affluent country we tend to take the important things for granted until we do not have them. When I did not have my wireless internet, my mother, my car and a plethora of other things I’d say I need on a day to day basis, I feel as though I got back to myself and the things that really mattered. Being without in Cuba brought me to value the things and the family and friends I have around me. More importantly it allowed me to take in a rich, beautiful and colorful culture through my eyes and lens in a profound, artistic way.”