We are pleased to have Alain Gutierrez as the guest speaker for our season opener on September 5th. Alain will speak about his career as photojournalist in Cuba, the adventures he has experienced, and some of the fiascos he has had to overcome. His images portray the daily life and stories of his country – a visual narration that speaks to us all.
Alain is a professional photographer, photojournalist, food blogger and creator of Thru Alain’s Eyes, LLC. He has a degree in journalism from the University of Havana and has been working as a photographer and writer for nearly twenty years in Havana. Alain has spent most of his time in Cuba photographing the daily life he sees around him. As a photojournalist, he strives to enlighten people about his culture. It is important to document the changes he sees developing in his country and he wants to share it with the rest of the world. He says ”photography is a commitment to your society – you are a time artisan.”
Another of Alain’s passions is food photography. In September 2014, he started a blog entitled, Taste of Cuba (atasteofcuba.org) with the goal of showcasing and sharing Cuba’s chefs, culinary trends and traditions with the rest of the world. It was Alain’s food blog that that brought world renowned chef and TV personality, Emeril Lagasse, to choose him as his local culinary guide for his Amazon television series, Emeril Eats the World: Forbidden Cuba. He has also worked with the award winning chef, Douglas Rodriquez, who is considered to be the Godfather of Nuevo Latin cuisine, in coordinating part of his culinary tours in Cuba. Alain continues to offer culinary tours for chefs, food writers, photographers and journalists visiting Cuba. “Food brings us closer together. Whenever I travel outside of Cuba, one of my top priorities is deciding where – and what – to eat. I prefer eating where the locals eat. If you really want to experience a place, experience its food, the meals and ingredients that define a people. Because if you savor the experience, every dish can be a lesson in culture.”
Another milestone in Alain’s career came when the American-owned OnCuba Magazine hired him to be their director of photography. The position provided him broader access to document the important issues in Cuban history. It was also the catalyst which helped draw attention to his work outside of Cuba. In 2015, Alain photographed Pope Francis’s visit to Cuba and shortly after was assigned to photograph the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Havana. And, in 2016, he was part of a media pull selected to cover President Obama’s historic visit to Cuba. Alain credits these events has having a significant impact on his career even to this day.
For the past few years, Alain has been working with former Newsweek photojournalist, Peter Turnley and Creative Live’s crew members John Greengo and Kenna Klosterman as a photography guide for educational people to people tours for Americans. Recently, Alain has also launched individualized tours and road-trips for small groups visiting Cuba through his company, Thru Alain’s Eyes, LLC. Information on Alain’s tours and photography can be found on thrucubaneyes.com and alaingutierrezphotography.com.