Havana, Cuba

Havana's historico centro has four main plazas and lots of of small ones. This one is dominated by a group of harlequins whose job it is to add some merriment to the scene. Look! It worked! [2017]

Havana, Cuba

Sunday afternoon means going to the movies for many Cubans, especially if  they're lucky enough to live in Vedado. The films are Cuban and so is the ice cream across the street. As for the Model T: not exactly Cuban, but very popular with visitors. [2017]

THE BACKSTORY ~ Posted on the 12^th Anniversary of Geographically Yours, 4 August 2022: Sometimes photos from Geographically Yours end up in other places, such as the covers of academic journals, in this case the Journal of Geography. Here is an example from my first trip to Havana. Cuba was off limits to U.S. travelers throughout my adult life.

Then, during the Obama Administration, there was a lifting of some restrictions. With the right travel agent, group ventures became relatively easy to arrange. At that point, a travel-inclined friend began putting together a “friends group” to make the trip. I was the first to arrive on the island, and used the time to visit the Havana Zoo (nice park for the kids, so sad for the few animals that were left). Later that day, our group convened at the O’Farrill Hotel and readied ourselves for a week of formerly forbidden travel pleasure. We had a guide, but also had plenty of time to wander around on our own. On one occasion our wanderings brought us to a famous ice cream parlor called Coppelia. Of course, there was a long line and few choices, but the ice cream was great. The line gave us a chance to gawk at the people in front of the Yara cinema, complete with its own line. That’s when I snapped this picture. I later sent it to the editor of the Journal of Geography who was looking for some cover art. He liked it. In fact, he ran a few covers with my photos. The Journal of Geography is published by the National Council for Geographic Education, which I served as President in 1997: an unbelievable 25 years ago! By the time I became President, though, I had already been a member of NCGE for 30 years. I joined in 1967, when I was a junior in high school. I may be the only high school student ever to join. But it was even before that when I became a geographer. It was 7th grade. That’s when I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life, and I did it! Never has there been a single regret. D.J.Z.

Havana, Cuba

On July 26, 1953, the army barracks in Santiago de Cuba was attacked by a band of revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro. It failed, and Castro was imprisoned. Still, it became the vanguard movement that overthrew the Batista regime and established the Cuba we know today. The mural recalls the events of 1953, and so does the classic car. [2014]

New York, New York, USA

From the 100th floor of One World Trade Center you can see what a global city looks like. Across the East River begins Long Island. On the Manhattan side, the scene is dominated by post-World War II Stuyvesant Town, the type of development Robert Moses loved and Jane Jacobs loathed. [2017]

New York, New York, USA

From the 100th floor of One World Trade Center you can see what a global city looks like. The Empire State Building in the center was New York City's tallest from 1931 to 1972 and again from 2001 to 2013. Now it's No. 3; the tower at 432 Park Avenue is No. 2, and it's also the tallest residential structure in the world. Can you see it? [2017]

New York, New York, USA

From the 100th floor of One World Trade Center you can see what a global city looks like. The Hudson River leads north, with New Jersey on the west side and Manhattan's Midtown and Chelsea on the east. Little is left of the working waterfront of a hundred years ago as port services have relocated closer to the open ocean. [2017]

New York, New York, USA

At a symbolic 1776 feet in height (to the top of the spire), One World Trade Center stands as the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. The One World view from the 100th floor is spectacular. You can even see the winged dove named Oculus that landed last year to nullify any negative energy that remains from 9-11. Together, they make a fine pair. [2017]