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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Eighty-two: A city portrait -- impressions of Havana, Cuba. > The Iceman Cometh, Havana, Cuba, 2012
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12-MAY-2012

The Iceman Cometh, Havana, Cuba, 2012

I’ve taken the liberty of titling this image with the name of Eugene O’Neill’s 1939 play. It is appropriate that I do so, because this image of an iceman escorting his frigid load through the streets of Havana features a timeless task that has been around at least as long as O’Neill’s play. Given Havana’s decaying vintage infrastructure, refrigeration is not a given. Blocks of ice must still be delivered on the backs of men such as these. I made this image from a moving taxicab, shooting through its front window into the back of the truck just in front of us. The iceman’s stern expression seems as chilly as the glistening pillars of ice surrounding him.

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Phil Douglis30-May-2012 19:35
Glad you picked up on the icy expression, Celia. I don't know if he even saw us. My friend Tim May and myself were shooting him from the back seat of a moving taxi. (Tim tells me that he has made an identical image, but my guess is that while the subject may be the same, there is something always a bit different in a Tim-picture.)
Cecilia Lim29-May-2012 23:10
I can't believe this is still happening in Cuba. In Malaysia, which is still very much an undeveloped nation, visions of this is a thing of the past. We have refrigerated vehicles delivering bags of machine made ice (What they store the ice in afterwards is another matter-haha!) This man's facial expression is as appropriately icy as the ice around him. Perhaps it irked him that you caught him slacking off enjoying the coolness from the ice blocks instead of working!
Phil Douglis27-May-2012 21:57
Yes, I was amazed as well, Carol. But Cuba is Cuba. It makes do with what it has, no matter how hard or laborious the effort. We take our own refrigeration for granted. In Cuba, keeping perishable food fresh and healthy is no easy task.
Carol E Sandgren27-May-2012 19:08
Ice is not a lasting commodity for too long...with that Havana heat! That means this man must work quickly, making his job even more difficult and laborious. It is amazing they still do this these days!
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