September 15th - October 15th is Hispanic Heritage Month and each week we’re highlighting the work of some of the community’s amazing photographers on Flickr. This week, we invite you to explore an album curated by the talented photographer, Alfredo Hernandez, as he shares his story with the Flickr community.
View the album here.
Papa Alfredo's Hispanic American Heritage
"My name is Alfredo Luis Hernández Moldes, Cuban by birth, naturalized German. I was born in the city of Cárdenas, Matanzas province, in the north of Cuba. I come from a middle-class family. My father was a doctor, my mother a teacher. I had a happy childhood in a country where everything is governed by state control. From a very young age, I had a great inclination for art, music and photography. I remember my first 2 cameras in Cuba, a Russian-made Zenith and another Praktika camera made in East Germany. I was very happy with my cameras, in those days having one or two was a true miracle and I remember how people looked at me in amazement for carrying those gadgets of that time.
The truth is that, in a country where everything is controlled by the regime, having those two cameras was also quite risky because you could be accused of spying for imperialism. In fact, I was detained several times to investigate why I was taking photos in one place or another.
I was also a musician who had a great influence on the rock music of those years, where it was practically impossible to listen to foreign music because it was classified in those years as ideologically deviant music. I remember that I was the first Cuban rock singer who sang in English in bands like Primavera (Spring) and La Guerrilla (The guerrila). Almost always, after the concerts, they took me to prison and several times they cut off my long hair.
These were the prices to pay for being so involved in art in Cuba. If you didn't make revolutionary art, then you had to be a counterrevolutionary and branded an enemy of the revolution.
I had to leave Cuba due to mental exhaustion and the abuse I received from the authorities. That was around 1984. My departure was hard, distressing and painful because they treated me like a real wild animal.
I finally made it to the free world, the world where I knew no one would care what I would do, who I would hang out with, and who I would meet.
Germany took me in as its own and I soon became one of its citizens. Here I could start doing my own thing freely, set up my own recording studio and buy the best cameras. Go to concerts with long hair without fear of being repressed and losing it again. Go take pictures freely knowing that no one would care where I pointed the lens of my camera.
Every year when I think about celebrating the Hispanic American national heritage and I look back and see where I came from, I feel pain for all my friends and family that I left behind. They unfortunately have nothing to celebrate but to continue resisting the injustice that is applied every day to their daily lives.
That is why, in every photograph I take, every song I compose and every painting I make, there is always the memory of my loved ones, the memory of the island where I was born but which destroyed my life uselessly because of the pranks of a few who have imposed their heavy hand against the Cuban people. I always carry all of them in my heart."
- Alfredo Hernandez
Photo © Alfredo Hernandez
© All Rights Reserved
Flickr is home to many styles of photography and for October's Explore Takeover we're highlighting the art of film photography!
We invite you to share your favorite film photos to Flickr Social. Photos shared to the Oct. Explore discussion will all be considered for this month's Explore Takeover that goes live on Thursday, October 31st. This includes scanned film photos, digital images of film photographs, and more.
Join us in Flickr Social today!
photo credit: Kai Sairanen
© All Rights Reserved
National Public Lands Day was celebrated just this past weekend, on September 28th and we thought it was a good time to bring some attention to a campaign focused on protecting one of these beloved national parks.
Our friends at Save the Boundary Waters are working hard to spread the word about protecting this special area of Wilderness in the Northeastern part of Minnesota. Check out the Flickr blog to learn more about the Save the Boundary Waters initiative and enjoy this gallery of images from the area and surrounding parks, all shared to Flickr by the Flickr community!
photo credit: Chad Davis
Tags: Autumn BWCA Wilderness Boundary Waters Entry Point Fall Graffiti Little Isabella River Minnesota National Forest Northern Minnesota RIVER Snake River The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Wilderness Stony River Township United States
Last week, the women known as NASA’s Hidden Figures, were honored with a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony to celebrate their legacies and the achievements they made while working at NASA during the space race.
See pictures from the event and learn more about the day's festivities on the Flickr blog.
Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Tags: Andrea Mosie Congressional Gold Medal DC U.S. Capitol Washington USA
Check out this week's installment of Weekly Snapshot with Flickr Social. Each week, we highlight some of our favorite photos from Flickr Social. Head on over to the Flickr Social group and start sharing your own photos for a chance to be featured!
Photo ©: Spain - Ciudad Real - Campo de Criptana - Windmills
© All Rights Reserved