LALUCHAtheSTRUGGLE Santiago de Cuba is a photographic book with a DVD and a photo exhibit that consists of photographs and video by the award winning photographer/filmmaker Laurence Salzmann. Included in the book also are naive paintings by Cuban artist Luis el Estudiante. The photographs and paintings depict training of wrestlers in the city of Santiago de Cuba. Salzmann and Luis el Estudiante each gives the viewer a renewed perspective of Cuban culture by documenting the life of these young Cuban wrestlers. Luis El Estudiante, a resident of Santiago de Cuba, presents a whimsical insider's view of the young wrestlers in training. Salzmann, an American, sees the wrestlers as a metaphor for the struggle confronting Cubans in the 21st century. Both artists' work reveals universals that illustrate our common humanity.

Publisher's Description

In Spanish luchar means both to wrestle and to struggle. In his photo series La Lucha, Laurence Salzmann uses this ambiguity as a departure point to explore the relationship between athletic endeavor and national and personal survival. The focus of these photographs is the human form against the backdrop of the minimally equipped training studio. The images of the wrestlers La Lucha represent an appreciation of the masculine form as well as an exploration of the role of sports in national identity.