The New Cubans

Jean-François Bouchard’s cinematic photography illuminates the previously underreported youth culture of contemporary Cuba, revealing a polymorphic, intimate community in which personal expression and gender diversity are vivaciously celebrated. Texts include an interview with renowned photographer and former Vice photo director Matthew Leifheit and an essay by Cuban art critic Jorge Peré. The New Cubans showcases a Cuba few outsiders have seen or possibly even know exists.

Amidst the countless hardships of life in Cuba and despite the present-day migration crisis, the younger generation of Cubans is shaping a new reality defined by nonconformity, gender diversity, and resilient creative expression. The New Cubans is a visual journey into this lesser-known Cuba, uprooting the cliché depictions of Cuban cigars, vintage cars, all-inclusive resorts, and Cold War echoes.

Over recent years, an imperfect storm of global and local circumstances has reinvigorated Cuba’s creative and alternative subcultures like never before. Largely driven by the recent widespread Internet access and the relaxation of the embargo during the Obama administration, the younger generation has increasingly embraced global influences, while suffering from the dire economic context on the island. Due to Cuba’s strict COVID-19 lockdowns and renewed U.S. sanctions, few overseas visitors have witnessed this vibrant new reality.

But Cuba also faces the largest migration crisis in its existence. In the past few years alone, hundreds of thousands of Cubans have left the country, many of them younger people. Many of the author’s subjects have since fled the island or intend to, making his photographs vestiges of rapidly vanishing social circles and moments in Cuban history.

Comprising more than 150 intimate, revealing photographs over 256 pages, The New Cubans is augmented with profiles of the fascinating individuals who welcomed Bouchard into their world. The book also features an interview with NYC-based photographer Matthew Leifheit and an essay by Cuban-based art critic Jorge Peré. Devon Ruiz, the photographer’s close collaborator who’s a vivacious star in the nightlife and art scenes in Havana, contributes heartfelt text.

The book’s ultimate aim is to reveal the lesser-known but vibrant Cuban inclusiveness, gender-diversity openness, and the lifestyles of the younger, connected Cubans who will shape the future of the island or leave it behind in search of new possibilities.

JF Bouchard is an award-winning visual artist whose photographic work has been exhibited in Montreal, New York, Toronto, Miami, and Paris. His images have featured in the Washington Post, Stern Magazine, The British Journal of Photography, Wired Magazine and many other publications. Bouchard’s immersive, emotive work channels his fascination for colorful outliers existing on the twilight fringes of mainstream society, creating revelatory narratives on obscured, often misunderstood subcultures.

Matthew Leifheit is an American photographer, magazine editor, and professor. A graduate of Rhode Island School of Design and the Yale School of Art, Leifheit is Editor-in-Chief of MATTE Magazine, the journal of emerging photography he has edited and published since 2010. Leifheit was formerly photo director of VICE Magazine and his photographs have appeared in publications such as The New York Times, The New Yorker, Aperture, Time, and Artforum. Leifheit’s photographic work has been exhibited internationally and is held in public collections. He is currently on faculty at Pratt Institute and Yale University.

Jorge Peré is a Bachelor of Art History from the Faculty of Arts and Letters at the University of Havana. He is an art critic, curator, essayist, and independent editor who earned mention in the National Art Criticism Award Guy Pérez Cisneros 2022. Peré is also the founder and editor of the independent editorial project El Oficio and assistant curator of prominent Havana galleries including Galería Taller Gorría, El Apartamento, and La Nave.

Devon Ruiz is a model, event organizer, photographer, fashion designer, and occasional painter. A versatile creative recognized as a vivacious star of Havana nightlife, she co-founded a fashion brand that reflects her colorful aesthetic and renowned energy. Devon’s shaved head is distinctively adorned with around twenty tattoos, each representing an aspect of her life. Although born in Holguín in eastern Cuba, both of her parents now live in the U.S. Known for her larger-than-life personality and a remarkable talent for finding happiness, Devon says that her dream is to travel between Cuba and other countries around the world. She has a weak spot for Amsterdam, where she hopes to further her artistic pursuits and make new Connections. Devon was essential in the making of The New Cubans. She is JF Bouchard’s close friend as well as his liaison to the young Cuban art, and party scene.