Ramiro A. Fernández Collection
A tribute to Cuba’s glamorous past
through hundreds of vintage photographs and ephemera
Cuba before Castro was defined
by boundless tourism and vibrant nightlife. From the streets of Havana to the
back roads of rural towns, Cuban life was a heady mix of music, dancing,
sports, gambling, politics, and struggle.
Cuba Then celebrates the intensely
colorful culture that photography collector Ramiro A. Fernández remembers from
his youth. From the earliest daguerreotypes to glamorous shots of movie stars,
a century of the country’s history is represented by a rich spectrum of
personalities: race-car driving aristocrats, sultry showgirls, gangsters,
everyday folk, and revolutionaries who would soon transform the nation, including
Fidel Castro and Che Guevera. An introduction by Fernández shares his early
memories of Cuba and details how his love of collecting vintage Cuban
photographs began. Through a foreword and poems, Richard Blanco, the
Cuban-American poet chosen to speak at President Obama’s second inauguration,
meditates on the romantic legacy of old Cuba.
A dynamic collage of images,
experiences, and memories, Cuba Then presents the glamour and the grit
of the island’s tumultuous history, through a collection that passionately
preserves traces of a lost homeland.
About the Authors:
Born in Havana, Ramiro A. Fernández is the author of I Was Cuba, a former photography editor at Time, Inc., and the owner of more than 3,000 vintage Cuban photographs. Richard Blanco is the award-winning author of four collections of poetry, including Looking for The Gulf Motel.
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| Ramiro A. Fernández |
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| Richard Blanco |
EVENTS •
Friday April 25, 2014 Book signing with Ramiro at the International Center of Photography
For More Info Visit IPC
Tuesday May 6, 2014 Book Signing and Presentation with Ramiro Fernandez and Richard Blanco at Books & Books, Coral Gables, FL
For More Info Visit Books & Books
CUBA THEN •
Ramiro A. Fernández, Foreword and poems by Richard Blanco
288 pages • 7-1/4 x 9-3/8 inches • 285 color illustrations
ISBN 978-1-58093-383-4 • $40.00 hardcover
www.monacellipress.com • twitter.com/monacellipress
The Monacelli Press • 236 West 27th Street, 4th Floor • New York, New York 10001
RELATED STORIES •
New York Times
Looking Back at Cuba and the Lower East Side
The Cut
Take a Trip to Cuba With These Glamorous Vintage Photos
Womens Wear Daily
RELATED STORIES •
New York Times
Looking Back at Cuba and the Lower East Side
The Cut
Take a Trip to Cuba With These Glamorous Vintage Photos
Womens Wear Daily
Cuba on My Mind: Book Spotlights Ramiro A. Fernández Collection
The Examiner.com
'Cuba Then: Rare and Classic Images from the Ramiro A. Fernández Collection'
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| Havana 1925 |
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| Cafecito |
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| Tracy and Hemingway on set The Old Man and the Sea |
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| César Romero and Mexican actress Elena de La Cruz in Havana |
Related Story:
New book offers glimpse into the Cuba of yesteryear through vintage and rare photos
BY ANA VECIANA-SUAREZ
AVECIANA@MIAMIHERALD.COM
Ramiro A. Fernández, a retired Time photo editor, began collecting photographs of his homeland quite by accident, but that serendipity has proven to be a bonanza for anyone interested in vintage images of Cuba and its colorful culture.
In 1981, Fernández was working as a receptionist at the Museum of Modern Art in New York when a man offered to sell a collection to the museum’s curator. The curator wasn’t interested, but Fernández ended up buying — on an installment plan — another album, one of 20 albumen silver prints from the 1890s by Spanish-born Cuban photographer Jose Gomez de la Carrera. It was the beginning of a lifelong love affair. Since then Fernandez has amassed 4,000 photo images that span about 150 years.
Now Fernández, 62, has put about 270 of those photos together in a book that offers a fascinating glimpse into the Cuba of yesteryear, a visual chronicle of glamorous showgirls, local celebrities, international movie stars and everyday people. Cuba Then: Rare and Classic Images from the Ramiro A. Fernandez Collection (The Monacelli Press) offers a peek into one of the largest collections of Cuban photography outside the island.
Fernández and award-winning poet Richard Blanco, who wrote a foreword and provided poems for the book, will talk about Cuba Then at Books & Books in Coral Gables at 8 p.m. Tuesday.