Cuba in sixty-five thousand photos: the soul of Havana according to Casadevall

The Ateneo de Madrid hosts the exhibition We Still Have Soul. Havana, by photographer Luis Casadevall. Over 12 years, he took more than 65,000 images to capture the essence of everyday life and Cuban culture. The exhibition offers an intimate and lasting portrait of a country in transformation, an opportunity to see its reality without filters.

photographer Luis Casadevall standing in front of a large analog camera on a tripod in a Havana street, Cuban vintage car passing by with motion blur, old colonial building facade with peeling paint, camera lens reflecting the scene, while his hand adjusts the focus ring, film rolls scattered on a wooden table nearby, cinematic photorealistic style, warm golden hour light, deep shadows, nostalgic atmosphere, ultra-detailed textures of worn walls and chrome car parts, technical photography equipment visible, dramatic composition showing the process of capturing everyday life

Photography as a Technical Archive of a Transition 📸

Casadevall used analog and digital equipment to document social change. His work is not a simple collection of snapshots, but a systematic record of Havana's urban and human evolution. With an average of 15 shots per day for over a decade, he created a visual database that allows analysis from building restoration to the persistence of traditional trades. It is a rigorous field study.

Twelve Years of Photography and He Didn't Find a Café with WiFi ☕

After 65,000 photos, one would expect Casadevall to have captured at least one happy tourist with an internet connection. But no. His lens focused on real people, in the bread line and on the 1950s cars. So, if you're looking for filtered selfies, better stick to Instagram. Here there is only Cuban soul and zero signal bars.