Fototeca de Cuba

This guide to the Fototeca de Cuba in Havana opens with a young photographer's problem: at twenty-nine, fresh from studying lighting in Milan, Joaquin Blez had no name in a Havana he wanted to convince of his talent. It follows how he announced himself as photographer to the elegant world in 1915 and won over the city's actresses, senators' wives and sugar heiresses, then traveled to Hollywood to learn the makeup and lighting tricks film studios used on their stars. You'll hear about the process he patented for printing photos with a metallic sheen, and the nudes he shot quietly for select clients away from his family portrait business. His old studio on Mercaderes street is now this gallery.