10 BEAUTIFUL BOOKS ON CUBA HAPPENING NOW

This week, we are focused on Beautiful Getaways. And we can’t wait to get away to enjoy them. In particular, we are focused on one of the hottest getaways happening right now -- Beautiful Cuba. We were lucky enough to experience it for ourselves, firsthand last week and we will be reporting our findings to you in a series of Daily Fix posts all this week.

We begin with 10 beautiful books about this amazing country, as it was, and as it is now changing.

1. HAVANA MODERN: TWENTIETH-CENTURY ARCHITECTURE AND INTERIORS

Havana Modern: Twentieth-Century Architecture and Interiors, written by Michael Connors and photographed by Néstor Martí, showcases Havana’s previously undocumented and gorgeously designed art nouveau, art deco, and modern private homes and public buildings.

From the artistic Vedado neighborhood, to the seaside streets of Miramar, to eclectic Central Havana, including the art deco Bacardi building, the famous Habana Riviera Hotel, and the renowned Tropicana cabaret nightclub, designed by Max Borges, you will see an incredible survey of Cuba’s most beautiful buildings, inside and out.

Rizzoli (2014)

2. CUBA: THIS MOMENT, EXACTLY SO

Cuba: This Moment, Exactly So is a magnificent collection of more than 250 of award-winning photographer Lorne Resnick’s black and white photographs, accompanied by 30 of Pulitzer-Prize winning author Brian Andreas’ micro-stories.

With a foreword written by acclaimed author Pico Iyer, this coffee-table book paints a wonderful picture of the vivid culture of Cuba, the strength of its people, and the sheer beauty of the island. You’ll delight in the vibrancy of this beautifully-crafted lavishly produced book.

Insight Editions (2015)

3. CUBA 1959

Cuba 1959 is an unforgettable collection of Magnum photographer Burt Glinn’s photographs documenting the Cuban Revolution. His photos poignantly capture the intensity of the turmoil and upheaval in Cuba in 1959, the final year of the Revolution.

This beautifully compiled tome contains passionate photos depicting secret meetings, gunshots, Fidel Castro’s triumphs, Batista Secret Police activities, confusion in the crowded streets, and widespread violence.

Glinn photographs in both black and white and color. His beautiful photos bring the idealism, the excitement, and the unparalleled movements underway in Cuba during this pivotal time in history.

Reel Art Press (2015)

4. CUBA: A HISTORY IN ART

Gary Libby and Juan Martinez’s comprehensive book, Cuba: A History in Art, beautifully presents the most important Cuban art created between 1600 and 1959.

Beautiful landscapes, still lifes, portraits, genre, and abstract works by Cuban painters are reproduced in vivid color.

The book begins with the European painting style, executed in a uniquely tropical manner, which emerged in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. After World War 1, sleek modernism became the trademark Cuban style.

Libby and Martinez, renowned art historians, contribute valuable insight into these developments. Cuba: A History in Art is perhaps one of the most comprehensive surveys of Cuban art that has yet been published.

University Press of Florida (2015)

5. PASSAGE TO CUBA: AN UP-CLOSE LOOK AT THE WORLD’S MOST COLORFUL CULTURE

Cynthia Carris Alonso’s book, Passage to Cuba: An Up-Close Look at the World's Most Colorful Culture, is packed with stunning images of the vibrant streets of Cuba.

These photographs capture the salmon, sky-blue, apricot, and aqua shades of downtown Havana’s buildings. Alonso’s photos also highlight the contrast between the historical buildings, such as the Capitol Building, the Havana Cathedral, and the Hotel Nacional, and the post-Soviet era monoliths, all dilapidated, peelings, and rich in multi-layered patinas.

Cuba’s color splays out in its fleets of 1950s automobiles, it’s hot jazz scene, and its sexy sweltering rumbas. This, together with the country’s natural beauty, art, and folklore, come alive in the stunning full-color images which show off the beauty that abounds in Cuban art, design, history, and culture.

Skyhorse Publishing (2015)

6. REEF LIBRE: CUBA THE LAST, BEST REEFS IN THE WORLD

Reef Libre: Cuba The Last, Best Reefs in the World, by famed diver and photographer Robert “Snorkel Bob” Wintner, highlights the impeccably preserved marine ecosystems in Cuba.

Cuba’s isolation from tourism and development has protected its coral reefs from damage. Wintner’s underwater photos capture the breathtaking beauty of Cuba’s pristine reefs and incredible ocean wildlife.

There are almost 400 still photos taken from Wintner’s documentary film, Reef Libre: The Movie, which explores the question of what will happen to Cuba’s coral reefs when the country opens up to tourists.

Wintner’s images showcase the shockingly pure beauty of these magnificent reefs. Reef Libre will make you want to book a Cuban snorkeling expedition while the reefs are still in pristine condition.

To watch the trailer for Reef Libre: The Movie, click here!

Taylor Trade Publishing (2015)

7. UNSEEN CUBA

Unseen Cuba is a stunningly beautiful collection of aerial photographs of Cuba, taken by renowned photographer Marius Jovaisa. Jovaisa is the first photographer

His astonishing photos capture the rich Pinar del Río valleys, the historic buildings of Baracoa, and La Habana, frozen in time, in the 1950s, as well as the country’s picture-perfect beaches, ancient towns, and villages.

Jovaisa’s unique approach to capturing the breathtaking beauty of Cuba will leave you wanting to see it for yourself.

Unseen Pictures, Ltd. (2014)

8. CUBA: THE PAST WITHIN

Photographer Juan Huerta took the beautiful photographs in Cuba: The Past Within.

Huerta’s wonderful images are positively dreamlike, showing how much of Cuba has been frozen in time, with images of worn buildings in Havana, dated automobiles, and 1950s-style interior design.

Blurb (2014)

9. THE LIGHT IN CUBAN EYES: LAKE FOREST COLLEGE’S MADELEINE P. PLONSKER COLLECTION OF CONTEMPORARY CUBAN PHOTOGRAPHY

The Light in Cuban Eyes: Lake Forest College's Madeleine P. Plonsker Collection of Contemporary Cuban Photography is a compilation of the author’s collection of beautiful Cuban photography from 1992 to 2012. It was just released during the May 2015 Havana Biennial by the Cuban Ministry of Culture.

These years are known as the “Special Period,” when Cuba’s economy was devastated as the former Soviet Union withdrew its financial support. The photos in this collection showcase the hardships endured and the grit that Cuban people demonstrated.

The Light In Cuban Eyes contains photos from fifty artists, such as Juan Carlos Alom, Adrián Fernández Milanés, Marta María Pérez Bravo, Cirenaica Moreira, and Glenda León. Though their photos are world-class, these artists are little known due to the international restrictions placed on Cuba.

These beautiful works will intrigue and invite you into the incredible world of contemporary Cuban art.

Lake Forest College Press (2015)

1. Image: by Nestór Martí. Courtesy of Rizzoli. Havana Modern: 20th Century Architecture and Interiors.
2. Image: by Néstor Martí. Courtesy of Rizzoli. Havana Modern: 20th Century Architecture and Interiors.
3. Image: Courtesy of Insight Editions. Cuba: This Moment, Exactly So.
4. Image: by Burt Glinn. Courtesy of Reel Art Press. Cuba 1959.
5. Image: Courtesy of University Press of Florida. Cuba: A History In Art.
6. Image: by Cynthia Carris Alonso. Courtesy of Skyhorse Publishing. Passage To Cuba: An Up-Close Look at the World’s Most Colorful Culture.
7. Image: by Robert Wintner. Courtesy of Taylor Trade Publishing. Reef Libre: Cuba The Last, Best, Reefs in the World.
8. Image: by Marius Jovaisa. Courtesy of Unseen Pictures, Ltd. Unseen Cuba.
9. Image: by Marius Jovaisa. Courtesy of Unseen Pictures, Ltd. Unseen Cuba.
10. Image: by Juan Huerta. Courtesy of Blurb. Cuba: The Past Within.
11. Image: Courtesy of Lake Forest College Press. The Light in Cuban Eyes: Lake Forest College’s Madeleine P. Plonsker Collection of Contemporary Cuban Photography.
12. Image: by Adrian Fernandez. Courtesy of Lake Forest College Press. The Light in Cuban Eyes: Lake Forest College’s Madeleine P. Plonsker Collection of Contemporary Cuban Photography.
13. Image: Courtesy of Rizzoli. Escape: The Heyday of Caribbean Glamour.
14. Image: by Marius Jovaisa. Courtesy of Unseen Pictures, Ltd. Unseen Cuba.
15. Image: Courtesy of BeautifulNow. BN App.
16. Image: by Marius Jovaisa. Courtesy of Unseen Pictures, Ltd. Unseen Cuba.
17. Image: by Lissette Solórzano. Courtesy of Lake Forest College Press. The Light in Cuban Eyes: Lake Forest College’s Madeleine P. Plonsker Collection of Contemporary Cuban Photography.