BEATRIZ, THE LADY FROM HAVANNA 

Beatriz, The lady from Havanna

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Havana is a fantastic city that I would love to return to. It’s just like in the movies—vivid colors, vintage cars, and music on every corner, with a thick scent of cigars hanging in the air.
Cuba is a country with a rich and intense history. A strong history. And there is a lot of poverty.

I met this woman on my way somewhere. She was dressed in colorful clothes, with flowers on her head and a big cigar in her mouth. Exactly what white tourists would expect to see.
“Don’t go over to her! She’ll just trick you into taking a photo so she can ask for money.”
And that was true. But I thought, I need a photo of this woman. I’m going to draw her one day.
I gave her the coins she asked for and took several photos—with a future artwork in mind.
And she clearly needed the money, there was no doubt about that.
Because I don’t believe a woman her age, with just a few worn teeth in her mouth, would choose to spend her later years—or make a living that way—unless she truly needed to.

A woman of her age, in a place like Havana, has undoubtedly seen a lot. Life has surely been challenging.
Her sandals were barely holding together, and the few teeth she had were brown.
But her smile was so genuine. So real it lit up her entire face, all the way to her eyes.

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Havanna er en fantastisk by som jeg gjerne vil tilbake til. Det er akkurat som på film. Sterke farger, veteranbiler og musikk på hvert hjørne, med tykk cigarlukt hengende over.

Cuba er et land med mye historie. Sterk historie. Og det er mye fattigdom.

Denne kvinnen traff jeg på vei til noe. Hun hadde kledd seg i fargerike klær, med blomster på hodet og en svær cigar i munnen. Akkurat det hvite turister ville se. «Nei, ikke gå bort til henne! Hun vil bare lure deg til å ta bilde for å få penger». Og det var jo sant. Men jeg tenkte at denne dama skal jeg ha bilde av. Hun skal jeg tegne en gang. Jeg ga henne myntene hun skulle ha, og tok flere bilder, med tanke på et fremtidig bilde. Og hun trengte de pengene, det var det ingen tvil om. For jeg tenker at en kvinne i hennes alder, med få tenner kastet inn i munnen, ikke velger å bruke sine eldre dager, eller tjene penger på den måten om hun egentlig ikke trengte det.

En så voksen dame på en plass som Havanna har vært vitne til mye. Livet har garantert vært utfordrende. Sandalene hang så vidt sammen, de få tennene var brune. Men smilet hennes var så ekte. Så ekte at det strålte videre opp i øynene.