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Updated: November 2, 2001 POPULAR "Decreptitude—crumbling plaster, sagging doorways, buckled streets. Sex—salty, sticky bodies and bare brown skin. The disparate elements combine and suffuse under Thierry Le Goues' questing lens, creating a tangy, visceral roundhouse to the viewer's senses. these are the kind of photos that make you want to be there." —Gear "...a travelog of a very personal nature—a lusty look at sweating dancers, Buena Vista Social Club stars, and voluptuous women modeling in derelict mansions." —American Photo "In an utterly wordless collection of 220 mostly color images, Le Goues provides a stunning look at a vibrant, sensuous people at work and play, reflecting great joy amidst great poverty. He also comes up with some simply gorgeous cityscapes, most of them decrepit, falling down buildings. There is a raw energy throughout the book that belies the popular stereotype of a downtrodden people who live under the thumb of Castro's Poloicia..." —WashingtonPost.com/CameraWorks "...features photos of hot Havana's party scene, a mixture of sexy strangers, underground denizens and Buena Vista Social Club stars." —Playboy "...a lush look at Cuba's dressed-down (way down) social scene. The book includes shots of boisterous revelers, Cohiba-smoking oldsters, voluptuous nudes and spirited wrestlers against a backdrop of crumbling urban beauty, decaying propaganda and Catholic iconography. The name of the book is taken from a favored brand of cheap domestic cigarettes, but also alludes to the fact that Cuba is a country where socioeconomic distinctions are almost nil." —Salon.com (9 photo portfolio) "His rippling, skin-puckering nudes, bathed in cobalts, haunting reds, or puerile olive tones, are enveloping, stark and stirring, yet they still manage an architecture of sorts, a page-turning peek at a cultural history that...has been hidden from our eyes." —Philadelphia Inquirer "...a picturesque view of Cuba that's moving, memorable and at moment magical. The hypnotic pictures are as unforgettable as the culture it captures. This is certainly not the Cuba on our nightly broadcast news." —Essence "His images of Cuba are turbocharged with emotion. So much so, they practically leap off the page. Dancers are captured in drunken reverie; athletes show off their physical prowess; zaftig, nude women reveal an unabashed pride and young beachgoers radiate joy and a carefree attitude, Even a lonely Havana street corner, captured in Le Goues' sharply focused lens, evokes a feeling of sadness. You long to kiss someone goodbye on this corner, or feel the temperature of the balmy island air touching your skin." —Picture (cover story) "...a technicolor ride through the streets of La Havana. Enraptured by rumberos guarachando, the heavy smoke from puros and the cold, focused stares of athletes, Le Goues lens captures a Cuba que sigue sonando." —Urban Latino (8 page excerpt) "...a gritty, provocative viewing of Havana's social scene. It celebrate spirit and style despite life's challenges." —Savoy "...imparts the spirits of Cuba..." —Black Issues Book Review "Buena Vista nostalgics beware: this is not your average travel guide. No, this is the spirit of spirituality at work on everyday people." —Trace (8 page excerpt) "Do we really need another book of pictures from the streets of Havana? If it's a book by Thierry Le Goues, the answer is yes." —Detour More Press Coverage !! |
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