Cuba is the discovery of a territory with mental images of the memories of another, Puerto Rico, native land of Manuel Rivera-Ortiz. A personal quest for self-discovery during an encounter with a territory strongly marked and, apparently, frozen in 1950s Americanism, a paradise for photographers and stereotypical images. However, here the emphasis is on populations who survived in the shadow of tourists visiting an open-air museum. The prism of Puerto Rican memory plunges us into a world where we can feel bonfires, palm trees and the sparks of Salsa dances. “I found my Puerto Rico more strongly here, to the west in the tobacco plantations and new friends – I found a unique community here, foreign to strangers but not to me, more like family in many ways. ” – Manuel Rivera-Ortiz
Fondation Manuel Rivera-Ortiz
18 Rue de la Calade, 13200 Arles
