Guajiro

Cuba

Santiago, 49 years old, called "El loco" (which means Mad Man, because of his energy). He is a cowboy and he runs a State farm in a land between Santa Clara and Cienfuegos (Cuba). He is the chief of the "caserio", a bunch of houses in the countryside, where he lives, with his family.

Orlando, about 70 years old, a relative of Santiago who lives in the same caserio. He is sowing.

Orlando, Teresa, Mikael, Joan and a neighbour relaxing at Orlando's house. Orlando and Teresa, have been living here for 70 years , which means all their lifes, working as peasants.

Marta, Santiago's mother, is feeding the poultry in the front yard of her house. She was born in this caserio and has spent all her life here.

Heidi is holding in her arms her little cousin in the backyard of her uncles house.

Santiago is taking his usual nap in the afternoon bacause he wakes up at 4.30 a.m every morning.

Jordi and Thiago, two cousins, both 15 years old, are talking near the corral where the animals, hourses , cows and goats are kept. Their life is quite tough. In the morning they breed the animals before going to school, and when they come back in the afternoon work in the farm.

Heidi, 10 years old, the youngest daughter of Santiago, with two horses. She is very passionate about animals and she is training to become an "Amazonas" (a lady who competes in Cuban rodeos).

Santiago and another cowboy are working with the cows in the corral.

Thiago is recovering the horses after a day the prairie. Thiago is 15 years old and his is the son of Santiago. He grew up in this farm among animals and he loves his lifestyle.

Thiago catching a bull with a lariat in the corral close to his house. He is an expert in managing the lariat.

Heidi is training for the rodeo in the corral close to his house.

Thiago is training with the lariat, twirling the lasso.

Thiago is training for the rodeo in the corral close to his house.

Siantiago and his wife Maipù, mother of 4 of his 5 children. They fall in love 20 years ago when Maipù was Hockey national Champion

Heidi is taking care of her horse.

A detail of the farm: a flower on the fence.

The horse's coat.

bunches of onions ready for the transplant.

Heidi taking a moment for herself on her bed.

Mikel, a cousin of Santiago, riding his white horse in a field close to his house. Horses are the only means of transport used in the caserio.

a typical wooden house of the Guajiros, the Cuban peasants.

Heidi and her grandmother Marta in her bedroom.

A portrait of Thiago, while is taking a break from work at the end of a day.

Charlie, the oldest son of Santiago and Maipù, having a shower with some boiled water taken from the water well. The is no running water and sewers in the caserio.

Jordi, the cousin of Thiago, chatting with some neighbors who are living in another caserio

Heidi in her bedroom, playing with her phone before sleeping, while Maipù is tidying up the kitchen. There is no internet connection in this area.

A typical wooden house in the caserio

Joan, Jordi's father, another guajiro of this caserio, at home

Blue hour in the caserio

Guaijors is the name of the Cuban farmers, a figure in between a peasant and a cowboy. They usually live in the countryside, in small remote villages called Caserios, made-up of few houses dislocated all over the island.They conduct a tough rough life in a symbiotic relationship with animals and nature.
Their days start very early in the morning and end at sunset, following the rhythm of nature.
I grew up close to my grandparents who lived in the mountain where they were born. They were peasants and I was fascinated by their lifestyle. I could feel a distance between my urban lifestyle and their approach to life, which had a completely different pace.
When I was a child I was intrigued by the way they prepared the food. At my city home, I used to go to the Supermarket to buy food while with my grandparents we were used to eating the animals that they bred, and with which I used to play: roosters, chickens, rabbits, pigs and so on.
Now, as a grown man I still feel a strong attraction to that lifestyle which is way different from mine: maybe harder but more meaningful and respectful of life.
When I arrived in Cuba, I was looking for something that reminds me of that part of my childish life. Something that could reconcile me with my roots. I kind of “call of the wild”. I “jumped” into Caserio La Nueva, somewhere between Santa Clara and Cienfuegos and I immediately felt at home. I became part of their broad family which is running the State farm here. Since 2017 I’ve been visiting them many times, working with them, eating with them, sleeping with them. Living with them.
This is their story and mine.