Photographer Alexandre Meneghini has been documenting daily life on the island of Cuba over the past year. His photos capture residents of Havana driving vintage cars along the seafront boulevard and sitting out on the doorsteps of their crumbling colonial-era homes watching children play baseball and football on the streets.
Meneghini says: "Cubans are very sociable and curious about foreigners. Maybe this is the reason I've always been welcomed into their homes to shoot, while they watch their much-loved soap operas, with the front door usually open for fresh air. I am out shooting on the street every day and some times at night as well, and I never felt threatened. I believe Havana is the safest capital city in Latin America. It makes me think, that's how my country, Brazil, might have been at the time of my grandparents, from the stories they used to tell me."
After 54 years of frosty relations between the US States and Cuba, the neighbouring countries formally restored relations by opening their respective embassies. Although tourism is still not allowed, it surely can't be long before the embargo is lifted. The resulting influx of American tourists may change the pace of life in Cuba forever.
Alexo Carmona, two, looks at Coco, a white pony, in Havana. Coco's owners, the Perez family, rent out five ponies to children for quick ridesAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersNorma Galves, 67, Ciomara Asencio Grenot, 72, and Hildeliza Herrera, 75, cool off with handheld fans during the Ninth International Festival Danzon in Havana. Danzon is a blend of European and African rhythms and appeared in 1879 in the Cuban province Matanzas. It was declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Cuba in 2013 and it is the official dance of the countryAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersRetired aeroplane painter Ernesto Arias, 78, and accountant Carola Suarez, 81, sit under a picture of former Cuban President Fidel Castro to watch US President Barack Obama's statement about Cuba on television, at the Eterna Juventud (Eternal Youth) retirement home in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersMichel Gonzalez, 39, rolls cigars at the H Upmann cigar factory in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersCigar sommelier Daylin Lopez, 30, smokes a cigar as she competes for the longest ash during the XVII Habanos Festival in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersCircus performers Isis Pelegrini and Olga Morales relax before performing in a Cuban National Circus show in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersCircus performer Olga Morales, 18, takes part in a training session in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersA circus performer practises during a training session in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersChildren practise during a training session at a circus school in an abandoned cinema in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersTeenagers train at an outdoor boxing gymnasium in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersChildren fight during a local wrestling tournament in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersThe crowd reacts as children take part in a local wrestling tournament in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersJonatan Leliebre, 10, and Oscar Torres, nine, exercise before a wrestling practice session at an old basketball gymnasium in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersChildren take part in a wrestling training session in a gym on the outskirts of Havana, in front of pictures of Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, Fidel Castro and Venezuela's late President Hugo ChavezAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersChildren play football on a street in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersA boy does a handstand on a street in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersIvan Ramos, 15, plays baseball in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersCarlos Ortega Ponce, three, plays baseball with his father in front of their home in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersPerformers from the Deep Roots Dance Company rehearse in an old theatre in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersPeople practise tai chi on Havana's seafront boulevard, known as MaleconAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersSchoolchildren prepare to throw a flower into the sea from Havana's Malecon seafront boulevard, in honour of rebel revolutionary commander Camilo Cienfuegos. He was a commander of Fidel Castro's rebel army but died less than a year after their victory when his plane disappeared over the ocean on 28 October 1959 en route from Havana to Camaguey. The plane and his body were never foundAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersCuban soldiers hold torches during a march in celebration of the 162nd birth anniversary of Cuban independence hero Jose Marti, in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersMembers of the Cuban Revolutionary Army hold national flags during a march for five Cuban intelligence officers, hailed by many as national heroes, who were arrested in 1998 and convicted in Miami in 2001 of conspiracy to commit espionage, murder, and other crimes in the USAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersStreet vendor Alain Rivera, 37, holds his 10-month-old nephew in a barber shop in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersRevellers in a bus watch a fight taking place on a street before their performance at a carnival parade in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersCowboy Raul Albeja, 60, stands as he listens to the national anthem during the International Livestock Fair Show in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersRiders wait to perform in the arena during the International Livestock Fair Show in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersCheila Martinez, 11, walks at the Marti park in Havana after performing with her dance school for the 120th anniversary of the beginning of the last and decisive Cuban independence war, which started on 24 February 1895Alexandre Meneghini/ReutersA bride looks to the camera from a convertible vintage car as she arrives for her wedding at the Palacio de los Matrimonios (Marriage Palace) in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersA taxi driver peers from the window of his car in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/ReutersA couple wearing the Cuban and American flags walk in HavanaAlexandre Meneghini/Reuters
