Havana, Cuba — 2025

Havana doesn't ease you in. The moment you step onto the Malecón, the city hits you all at once: the salt air, the rumble of a passing classic convertible, a fisherman casting his line while a pelican circles overhead. It's chaotic and beautiful in equal measure, and it doesn't slow down for anyone.

I've been drawn back to Cuba repeatedly, and each visit reveals something different. On this trip, in January 2025, I moved between the waterfront and the narrow streets of Old Havana, watching the city live. The Malecón is still the heartbeat of it all, with classic American cars in pinks, reds and turquoises cruising the seafront as if it's still 1958 and the fortress of El Morro keeping watch across the harbor. Old Havana moves at its own pace. It's a photographer's city, but only if you're willing to get off the tourist trail and just walk.

What's in the gallery

The Malecón: a red convertible with El Morro behind it, a pink one cruising past a fisherman as a pelican flies overhead, a motorcycle passing a no-stopping sign, a sharply dressed man in a colorful jacket on the seawall. Old Havana: musicians on trumpet and trombone, music spilling out of Al Pirata on a Tuesday afternoon, a boy looking out through iron window bars, a girl posing proudly at a café table, a mother and her children on the steps of a colonial building, a man in front of a baseball mural, and a full moon rising over the rooftops at dusk.

See my earlier work from the city in Havana 2024, and watch the 72 hours in Havana video from the same trip. Closer to home, see Little Havana.

Full moon rising over the rooftops of Old Havana at dusk
Young boy looking through iron window bars in Old Havana Cuba
Two musicians playing trumpet and trombone on a Havana street
Young girl posing at a cafe table in Old Havana Cuba
Musicians performing at Al Pirata bar in Old Havana Cuba
Red classic convertible driving along the Malecon in Havana with fortress in background
Stylish Cuban man in colorful jacket sitting on the Havana waterfront
Mother and two children sitting on steps of a colonial building in Havana
Young boy eating on a Havana street with pedestrian in the background
Colorful buildings along the Malecon waterfront in Havana Cuba
Elderly Cuban man sitting on a doorstep in Old Havana
Motorcycle and classic red car passing a no-stopping sign on the Malecon in Havana
Man standing in front of a baseball mural on a wall in Old Havana
People walking along a narrow street in Old Havana Cuba
Colorful classic American cars driving along the Malecon in Havana
Young man leaning in a doorway of a weathered building in Old Havana
Young family walking with a stroller on a Havana street
Pink classic convertible cruising the Malecon and man fishing with pelican flying overhead in Havana
Fisherman casting a line on the Malecon with a pelican flying overhead in Havana
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Havana Cuba 2024