cuba skate

the havana workshop — on 35mm and 120 film

march 2024

I had followed Cuba Skate on Instagram for years before I finally made it to Havana in March 2024, traveling with William Hernández, who has been bringing people to the island for over a decade. We connected with the crew ahead of the trip, and they took me to their workshop. Everything here was shot there and in the streets around it, on my Leica M3. What they build with so little — and how warmly they welcomed a stranger with a camera — was the most humbling thing I brought home.

Board builder standing in the Havana workshop, Portra 800

the workshop, havana

Drilling a deck at the workbench
Tattooed hands shaping a board at the grinder

boards are built here, not bought

Two builders seen through the workshop window frames

the shop runs on window light

Builder in mask and cap working in the shop, black and white
Plaid shirt at the bench press, black and white

tri-x, sawdust, second lives for broken decks

Two builders close over the work, black and white
Hoppster cap over the bench, black and white

the builders

Plaid shirt against a white wall
Sky and a plant through the broken roofline
Coupe glass resting on a tiled ledge
Silhouette in the workshop window

still frames between sessions

Two silhouettes through the long workshop windows

the window line

Portrait at the workshop door
Profile portrait against the dark doorway

the crew

Resting against the wall on a tiled floor
Talking shop between builds

downtime

Drained swimming pool in hard light

every empty pool is a skatepark

Street with cars and cyclists, black and white
Two figures walking up the avenue

vedado, on the way to the next spot

Laundry line over the courtyard, color
Cap through the barred workshop window, color

life around the shop

Three of the crew against a wall in the sun
At the workbench through the window, color

the good of cuba, and the people showing it:

cuba skate is a d.c.-based 501(c)(3) working in havana since 2010 — they've brought thousands of decks, shoes and tools to the island, run youth programs, and are building a skatepark from recycled plastic. follow them at @cubaskate or support their work.

william hernández requejo, who led this trip, teaches at uc irvine and has been building bridges between the u.s. and cuba since 2009.

anthony bourdain called havana "the most beautiful city in all of latin america or the caribbean" — his cuba field notes are still the best short read on why. then start planning with lonely planet's cuba guide.

shot on my trusted leica m3. tri-x 400, portra 800, portra 160.
scanned and developed by findlab. havana, march 2024.

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