To answer your question, first I have to say, I am aware of the U. S. Empire (I read Chalmers Johnson, who reminds me of William Burroughs), but I am not sure that United States of America president Barack Obama is/was president of the U. S. Empire. Just sayin’, not ratifyin’. To continue: I think, ironically enough, that although I didn’t see it coming, Obama’s normalization with Cuba was one of his most effective policies. While executive orders are extremely polemic, in an era when congressional legislation has become an oxymoron, when political obstruction is the default, executive orders take on a new role.

Obama had the vision to realize that the Embargo-Industrial Complex’s stranglehold on Cuba policy had expired both by failure and attrition, and normalization’s moment had arrived; not doomed, not politically suicidal, but actually in tune with the vast majority of non-Cuban-Americans, and a decent majority of Cuban-Americans. And absolutely in tune with market-seeking industries and corporations. I’m describing what I see as the alignment here, not my own aspirations for Cuban-American relations based on my values.

That said, normalization is not normalcy. The two countries have not become allies, friends or even trading partners. They have not come into alignment. An uncomfortable history has not been resolved. Obama’s normalization has achieved the reestablishment of diplomatic relations and the decriminalization of travel to Cuba by Americans. The door has been opened a crack for business, but the embargo still stands. There are still tremendous political, legal, diplomatic, ethical and moral hurdles remaining before we are looking at anything that resembles reconciliation. At this moment it is an open question whether that will go forward or backward.

A. In my August 2016 exhibition, “La Habana Te Llama – Havana Is Calling You,” for the Vermont Festival of the Arts, I updated my three ongoing themes, music, dance and daily life, with images from trips I made in December 2015 and April/May 2016, to reflect current expressions of change, some subtle and incremental, like portraits of people I’ve known and photographed for over 20 years, some more momentary, like the continuing emergence of tattoo art, and some instantaneous, like Fast & Furious 8 filming in Havana. Within a single day I shot, processed, delivered and published (on a Cuban news website, OnCuba.com) photos of helicopters shooting in Central Havana near where I stay.

A. These two are almost different manifestations of the same photo, in both content and form. Most centrally, they are both images of people inhabiting themselves, being fully present in public. And both photos have a strong diagonal (diangular?) structure. “Out for a Walk” is a play on words, because 20 years ago in Havana you wouldn’t see gays in the street as out as these two are. I love the way they disrupt the ambient environment as they walk, simply by being themselves. The “Dancers at the Cuban Art Factory,” a man with a Cuban flag shirt and a woman with a Che Guevara shirt were dancing in front of the stage. Their shirts, bouyant, creative fashion and patriotic statements at the same time, were icing on the cake of the joy evident in their dance. It was a challenging photo to take due to the extreme low light conditions. I lucked out.

A.  Unfortunately for your question, my “wisdom” resides more in the trees than the forest. I don’t know. It’s definitely about the pulse, though.

A. That the Cuban people and Cuban culture may thrive.