古巴之行 第4期

很多中国人对远在大洋彼岸的古巴有着一种莫名的亲切感。这个熟悉而陌生的国度就像一个糅杂着各种意象、气味和声音的万花筒。在美国的封锁之下，你看不到世俗眼光中的富足，但是你能看到很多人终其一生都在追求的快乐自在。接下来，美国《国家地理》杂志的摄影师将带我们踏上一趟生动的古巴之旅。

（注：CE: Teens曾在2006年2月号介绍过哈瓦那著名酒吧，有兴趣的同学可以查阅。）

It’s an island of proud, passionate people, just 90 miles from Florida, a country rich in culture and 1)controversy. Now, more than half a century after its revolution, Cuba is once again 2)on the brink of change.

David Alan Harvey is a photographer for National Geographic magazine, and 3)documenting Latin American countries is the focus of his work.

Harvey: Well, I’ve been very interested in the Latin world for about 20 years, and Cuba’s a place where I’ve wanted to work for a long time.

He’s here to photograph a Cuba few people know.

Harvey: You know, there’s something so unique about Cuba in the way that life 4)unfolds in the streets. It’s a 5)kaleidoscope of activity, 6)imagery, smells, sounds. It’s all 7)interconnected, and that’s what Cuba is all about.

Right now I’m working in a beautiful 8)colonial town in the southern part of Cuba called Trinidad. I’ve made eight or nine trips to Cuba in the last two years, and I’m really 9)getting in sync with their way of life. Sometimes it feels like I’m in an old movie; as if time just stopped in 1959. In a lot of ways Cuba is like a

10)time capsule: that’s why I’m here right now. I want to photograph this place before it changes. I always look at it that I’m photographing the end of one thing and the beginning of something else. It’s the end of the revolution and it’s the beginning of whatever’s gonna happen from now on, so it’s a real important thing for me to document this little 11)slice of history.

Cubans are a 12)blend of cultures. This young girl is celebrating an age-old Spanish tradition.

Harvey: A quinceañera is a…a young woman’s 15th birthday party, and it’s her coming out party for society.

For Harvey, getting into a good picture situation is only half the battle.

Harvey: By the time I’m looking through the 13)viewfinder,I’ve got all this information 14)processed in my brain, and then it has to get translated into something that’s 15)visual.

So I’m looking at the light, the play of the light on the people, the way the people are moving, all kind of rolled in together to capture one little moment that just might say something about what these people are all about.

For 40 years now, Cuba has pretty much been cut off from the rest of the world. Some of the things that we

16)take for granted, for example, Cubans have never had the opportunity to enjoy. Truth is, people just don’t have very much in Cuba, and that has forced them to become incredibly 17)resourceful.

(On a plane) Well, this plane got here. Let’s hope it gets back here one more time.

All over Cuba, people 18)make do with what they have. Sometimes that means putting your faith in Cuban 19)ingenuity to the ultimate test.

David wants to photograph the city of Trinidad from the air, which means climbing into a 20)radial engine 21)biplane based on a 1933 design.

Harvey: Okay, he’s sittin’ there. He’s sayin’ I don’t have to fasten my seat belt. Forget it… So I think he’s probably right. (laughs) There’s not much point. That’s the first time I ever have ever, ever had a pilot―I start to fasten my seatbelt and he says, “Don’t worry.”

Harvey knows they can keep a ’57 Chevy on the road, but can they keep this “22)vintage bird” in the air?

Harvey: Once I got over the smell of gasoline and burning oil and the fear, I started to actually enjoy myself and 23)take in some of the scenery. This old airplane is like a time machine, and it got me thinking about Cuba in its 24)heyday. Part of what’s so 25)appealing about Cuba today is that you can just stand in the middle of the street and actually see this country’s past. That’s just one of the things I’m trying to capture and photograph while I’m here.

Some things in Cuba never seem to change.

Harvey: You cannot go anywhere in Cuba without seein’ baseball. The kids are playin’ baseball absolutely

everywhere. They can make a baseball 26)diamond out of any space. They can make a baseball out of anything. They use their hands for 27)bats, or a stick.

And grown-ups share their 28)obsession. Every day groups of men gather here, not to talk politics, but baseball.

Harvey: These guys are going crazy, man. They’re discussing dates, who hit what 29)home run when, who slid into third base, and they, of course, obviously, disagree on just about everything.

I have…actually mixed feelings about change coming to Cuba. On the one hand, I would love for the Cuban people to have a better life. I’d like them to receive the things that they need. At the same time I would really love to see them preserve this sense of 30)innocence that they have, and move into the future somehow protected. I feel very close to the Cuban people, and this isn’t…has not just been an 31)assignment for me. Cuba’s a place where I know I will always return, and I wish them a bright future.

这个岛屿上生活着一个自豪、奔放的民族，它距离（美国）佛罗里达只有90英里（约145千米），也是一个文化深厚并富有争议性的国家。在距离当年的革命已经超过半个世纪的今天，古巴再一次面临变革。

戴维・阿伦・哈维是（美国）《国家地理》杂志的摄影师，其主要工作是拍摄拉美国家纪录片。

哈维：过去二十多年来，我一直对拉美世界很感兴趣，而古巴正是我长久以来希望能在那里工作的地方。

他要来这里拍摄一个鲜为人知的古巴。

哈维：你知道，古巴有着独特的魅力，生活如此活色生香地在这里的街头铺开。这里就像一个糅杂着各种活动、意象、气味和声音的万花筒，一切互相交织着，这正是古巴的特色。

现在我正在拍摄古巴南部一个美丽的殖民地小镇――特立尼达。过去两年里，我来过古巴八九次，开始真正理解当地人的生活。有时我觉得自己好像置身于一部老电影，仿佛时间停在了1959年。古巴在很多方面就像是一个时间胶囊。这正是我现在来到这里的原因――我想在这个地方发生改变之前把它记录下来。我一直认为自己正在拍摄的是一件事物的终结，同时也是其他事物的开始。这是革命的结束，也是从现在开始正要发生的事情的起点。因此，对我来说，把这段历史的小片段记录下来是一件很重要的事情。

古巴人本身就融合了各种文化。这个年轻的姑娘正在参加一项历史悠久的西班牙传统庆祝活动。

哈维：成人礼是……少女的15岁生日派对，标志着她开始步入社会。

对哈维来说，占到拍摄的有利位置只是打赢了半场仗而已。

哈维：在通过取景器拍摄之前，我已经在大脑里处理过所有信息，接下来就是把它们诠释成视觉画面。所以我要观察光线的情况、光照在人们身上产生的效果以及人物移动的方式，把所有这一切结合起来，以捕捉一个能够讲述这些人的故事的瞬间。

过去四十年来，古巴几乎与世隔绝。比如说，一些我们司空见惯的事情，古巴人却从未有机会享受。事实上，正是由于人们在古巴并没有很多东西可供享受，这反而使他们变得特别足智多谋。

（在飞机上）好了，这架飞机停在这里。希望它能再一次回到这里来吧。

在整个古巴，人们依靠手里现有的东西设法过日子。有时，那是在考验你对古巴人的聪明才智有多大信心。

戴维想从空中拍摄特里尼达市，这意味着他要爬进一架1933年款的星形引擎双翼飞机。

哈维：好了，他正坐在那里。他说我不用系安全带，别管它……所以我想他可能是对的。（笑）没什么。这是我头一次见到飞行员――我开始系安全带，他却说：“别担心。”

哈维知道他们可以让一辆1957年的雪佛兰在路上跑，但他们能不能让这只“古董机器鸟”在空中飞呢？

哈维：一旦克服了汽油和燃烧的机油味，还有恐惧感，我开始快活起来，不时地欣赏风景。这架老飞机就像一台时光机器，让我想起古巴的全盛时期。今天的古巴如此吸引人的魅力之一在于，你只需站在街上便能看到这个国家的过去。这就是我在此地试图捕捉和拍摄的其中一样东西。

在古巴，有些事情似乎永远不会改变。

哈维：无论去到古巴哪里，你都能看到棒球的影子。孩子们在任何一个地方都能玩棒球。哪里都可以是他们的棒球场，什么东西都可以变成他们的棒球，他们用双手或棍子当球棒。

大人们也和他们一样痴迷棒球。每天都有三五成群的男人聚集在这里，不是谈政治，而是谈棒球。

哈维：这些人简直疯了。他们在讨论比赛日期、谁在什么时候打出了什么本垒打、谁滑进了三垒。当然，很明显，他们对每件事情都各有各的看法。

其实……我对古巴即将发生的变革感到百感交集。一方面，我很愿意看到古巴人民过上更好的生活，我希望他们能够获得他们需要的东西；同时，我也希望看到他们保持这份纯真，能免受外界影响，迈入未来。我觉得自己和古巴人很亲近，这份工作……对我来说并不只是一次任务。我知道自己会经常回到古巴，也祝愿他们拥有一个美好的未来。