This is Cuba. And Havana - apart from being the largest city of the Caribbean - is the remarkable synthesis of all that.

Joop Greypink, from Greypink Ultimate Realization Units -GURU, a Dutch photographer living in Düsseldorf, Germany, keeps collecting Art Director's Club Awards for his jobs. Apart from this...pastime, he has a track record in publishing books on art, electronic magazines and global art projects, such as the Puros, a fascinating carnet of conventional 8x10" photos of Cubans taken while smoking cigars: in their eyes you can catch not only their spirit, but the friendliness of all the people of the island, painted in black and white shades. The project is even on the catalog of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana.

Joop kindly agreed to share with VRMAG readers the following panoramic images, shot with a Nikon D70 and 8mm Fisheye lens, which are a synthesis of his rare sensibility.

Castillo de los tres Reyes del Morro, in the harbor of La Habana.
Built between 1589 and 1630 on the project of Juan Bautista Antonelli, it was an outstanding defense post against the raids of the marauders and - apart from being an historical museum today - it was even useful against the British attacks back in the past, being considered the most important military structure built by the Spanish in America.

click here to view Castillo de los tres Reyes del Morro, in the harbor of La Habana

Plaza de la Catedral de la Habana
The alma vieja of the city is well epitomized in the Plaza de la Catedral de la Habana, where the buildings of the colonial era of the XVII and XIX century erects into a blue sky, that saw the first Spanish aqueduct ever built in America. The majority of the houses circling the square are porched and several small shops and coffees await for your break.

click here to view Plaza de la Catedral de la Habana

Plaza de San Francisco
It's in this square that the gobernador had his residence, until the end of the XVIII century. Here the church of San Francisco competes for the attention with the Lonja del Comercio, a restorated building that is considered amongst the most modern of the city.

click here to view Plaza de San Francisco

Parque Central
The Teatro García Lorca, the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes and the Bacardi building are just a stone's throw away from this park, where some palm trees will try to offer you a shield from the sun...

click here to view Parque Central

Museo de la Ciudad
Palacio Presidencial until 1920, the Museo de la Ciudad, in Plaza de Armas, isn't only a jewel in its structure, it's a jeweled treasure chest: inside it holds displays of colonial-era artifacts...and its patio is an oasis of peace worth a visit.

click here to view Museo de la Ciudad exterior

click here to view Museo de la Ciudad patio

...You still wonder why everyting you've just seen is under the patronage of Unesco?

Even though a picture is worth a thousand words, we considered that some insights by Joop Greypink would have been helpful either to understand the mood in which the panoramas have been taken, or for those readers who just decided that the next trip will be to Cuba, considered that Joop has several advices to give...

When did you first see Cuba? Why did you decide to visit the island? Which were the first impressions you had about the country ?
I always used to travel to countries with no touristy structures. Twelve years ago I decided to visit Cuba, so I booked a flight and hopped in, with my camera and some bags filled with clothes, medicines and several others belongings which could have been useful for the poverty stricken families. That was my first visit to the island and the first impressions are connected with the Cubans, and their friendly reception.

What does Cuba represent for you?
The contacts I made allowed me to look behind...the curtains. When I think about Cuba I've the image of well-educated people, who live without any commercial pressure and are able to build very strong human relations. Any prejudice I could have had before my first trip, immediately evaporated.

How is your relationship with the island and the people?
I love the island and I love its people. Cuba is a wonderful country with all its ups and downs. The problem is that you do not have any connection to the outside world, which means no easy access to the phone lines and...no internet. That further means that you have to adapt and live as the Cubans do, which is nice for a while.

Why did you decide to shoot these amazing panoramas about Havana?
After the shooting of my PUROS series, I wanted to go further in showing the beauty of the landscape, meanwhile trying something new. Originally I am a still-life photographer, working in studios with artificial light. That means that either PUROS or the panos are experiments...But working with computers opened this door.

You added very nice soundtracks to the panoramas, can you tell us more about them?
I bought the music from http://www.uniquetracks.com/ as well as FreePlay Music tracks, offered by Apple a few years ago. I was looking for not-too-salsa-like music. Internet is a great source.

Can you suggest to our readers which are the must see and the unmissable experiences to live, when traveling to Cuba?
Baracoa, Santiago de Cuba, Havana...the list is endless. Don't book a trip to the tourists' ghettoes, since they are all alike, anywhere in the world. Try instead to find the so called 'casas particulares', which are private flats or houses you can rent (and sometimes they are very well equipped too), which will give you the chance to have your feet in the Cuban life, meanwhile being cheaper than hotels. The landladies will even cook and clean........

Links:
Greypink Ultimate Realization Units website
Puros Project