The Cuban Staircase

This image was taken by a friend of mine who is also a professional photographer, Mario Serafin, on a recent trip to Cuba. When I saw it in his folder of pictures, I was immediately struck by its beauty and curious to learn more. I asked him for the story behind the image and this is what he told me, “To make a long story short, that picture was taken in a building where a friend of mine from Havana used to live. I met him three years ago. He had gangrene and ended up loosing a leg. Unfortunately he passed away last year. I took this photo last month when I went to that building looking for him. He used to live alone and when he was alive he use to spend most of his time on the streets, wandering around in his wheelchair. Everyday his neighbors would take him up and down those stairs so he can enjoy his life in the streets. Amazing guy, amazing neighbors and amazing stairs.”

This stair is a piece of art, captured by a talented photographer, with the many textures of aged wood, Spanish tiles and chipped paint. You can still see the beautiful lines of the original stair – that I imagine is close to 100 years old at least.  It is also representative to me of Cuba’s history and the endurance of its people. The spiral is being supported by a 4” x 4” and still used to this day - with the ability to support the weight of 2 adults at once. This story reminds me of my trip to Cuba in 1996, and the 14 flights of stairs I had to climb to a friend’s apartment every time we returned due to an indefinitely broken elevator.  I am grateful to Mario for sharing this picture and its story with his community.

-Phoebe Schraer