Cuba

1961 · ref. 2137 — Various places in Florida Mexico Cuba & Spain 1961. About very good. 138 original prints each 8 x 10 inches; mostly large format images with twelve contact sheet containing multiple smaller images and including several duplicates. Light wear at edges; slight curling. Occasional patches of scuffing or soiling. Scattered manuscript annotations and ink stamps on blank versos of photographs. An interesting aggregation of approximately 150 unique professional images that depict the travels and activities of the Latin American Fiesta Association of Tampa Florida. The cultural heritage group was founded in 1940 and flourished from the late 1940s to the 1980s and organized or participated in local social events had an annual ball and traveled widely across Latin America. The photographs here date from 1949 to the early 1960s and document the travels of association members to Spain Mexico and Cuba. They attended numerous events entertainments dinners and other social gatherings as well as made visits to attractions and local cultural clubs. In Spain and Cuba their trips seem to have been limited to Madrid and Havana respectively and there are some interesting series of travel images in Cuba from just prior to the Revolution. The group seems to have made multiple trips to Mexico and traveled somewhat more widely. Scattered images show the activities of the association in Florida as well and many of the prints have contemporary manuscript captions and ink stamps of local photographers and photography studios on the versos. In all a wide-ranging and quite engaging group of large photographs that document this midcentury Latin American social club in Florida. unknown books