Divided Lives, the Villamil Family - Cuba/ LA

Felipe Villamil was the head of his family and a respected Santeria priest for the Afro-Cuban community in his home town of Matanzas, Cuba. In January 1980, he was thrown into jail for an unproven offence.

After nine months in prison he was given the choice to leave for the US along with 125,000 of Castro’s ‘undesirables’ or languish in jail for the rest of his adult life. He opted for freedom despite having to leave behind his wife and family.

He settled in Los Angeles where he has built a new life, earning a living as a Santeria priest. Meanwhile the family he left struggled on in Castro’s dilapidated Cuba.

I heard about Felipe’s story through a friend and was drawn to this strangely divided family. I flew to LA to visit him. He was not well. His spirits were low and he explained that Santeria had become for him like a job, whereas in Cuba it was a way of life. He said to me, “People think that there is great wealth over here. It’s true there’s a lot of money, but to get it you have to put your fingers into the oven, and do you realise how hot that oven is?”

I decided to go to Cuba and return once I had met the rest of his family.

The images in this series are drawn from that journey. As I revisited my contact sheets I thought of Felipe remembering the world he had left behind. They evoke a nostalgic dream place of elemental qualities. Heat, sweat, skin. Distilled raw life waiting for something to happen. A memory harsh in its poverty but rich in spirit and feeling.

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