How a boy from Havana who couldn't afford a camera became one of Cuba's most important documentary photographers.
"Photography is a door to allow me to get into places, to meet people, and I love people, I believe in people."
Cuban photographer Alain Gutiérrez has been documenting the daily life and stories of his country and its people for over twenty years. He first discovered photography as his artistic calling during his journalism studies at university. Growing up in a humble working-class family on the outskirts of Havana, where basic goods were often scarce, the idea of owning a personal camera was an unattainable dream.
Until a professor noticed something different in him. Recognizing Alain's deep and uncommon commitment to photography, the professor gave him an old film camera, the keys to a seldom-used photo lab, and an introduction to a magazine's editorial photographer who taught him how to develop film and make prints.
It was one of a series of moments Alain says changed the course of his life — times when he was struggling, yet someone saw his potential and offered him an opportunity. He's made it his mission to continually pay it forward.
After earning his degree, Alain spent thirteen years as the arts Archive Manager and Photographer for a cultural center, developing relationships with leaders in the Cuban arts community while continuing to build his own body of work. The road wasn't easy.
"The biggest challenge to managing a photography career: you have to fight frustration — you have to fight and challenge people to understand the value of what you do as a professional. Many people in Cuba think that photography is just pushing a button."
In time, American-owned OnCuba Magazine noticed his talent and hired him as Director of Photography, giving him access to document important moments in Cuban history. He photographed Pope Francis's visit to Cuba, the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Havana in 2015, and Obama's historic 2016 Cuba visit — two moments he considers the most significant of his career, and ones that continue to open doors for him today.
Alain also started a food blog to share Cuban culinary traditions and the people behind them — no small feat in one of the countries with the least open internet access in the world. That blog eventually brought Emeril Lagasse to choose him as his local culinary guide, confirming for Alain the power of self-publishing in whatever medium was available.
When Instagram began gaining traction, Alain used it to capture the stories of Cuba that didn't fit in the magazines — a way to express his own voice and opinions through images. He says the experience changed his life, leading to more opportunities and ultimately to his first self-published book, The Privilege of Being Here, based on his Instagram visual storytelling.
The harder Alain works, the more work he creates for the young photographers around him. His advice to fellow creatives reflects a lifetime of being lifted up — and lifting others in return.
"Be honest and share with friends. Try to work in groups — you have to keep your individuality of course, but once you have a group of fellows, work together and try to push yourselves together. That's the only way to be better."
"Now we understand that we can work for our dreams. Everyone around us is helping us and encouraging us to continue with that. That's the reason that is going to change our country — our people's dreams."