Una galería especial y mini-bio del fotógrafo irlandés que supo atrapar el aliento de cuba.

Con una dedicación especial para Ernesto Mirabal.

A labourer cools down under water from a supply pump in a truck on the outskirts of Havana, September 5, 2013. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA – Tags: SOCIETY ENVIRONMENT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) – RTX13952

A small picture of Fidel Castro and a Cuban flag decorate a home in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016. Cuba is observing nine days of mourning for the former president who ruled Cuba for half a century. (AP Photo/Desmond Boylan)

70-year-old Gilberto Ruiz sits at the wheel of his modified 1948 Ford in Havana July 12, 2012. Gilberto, who was unemployed, with a big family to support and his permit to use his car as a private-licensed taxi had expired, literally welded himself a new job and cut up his sedan turning it into a pick-up truck to work in the private transport bussiness. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA)

70-year-old Gilberto Ruiz checks a load of building materials loaded on his modified 1948 Ford on the outskirts of Havana May 23, 2012. Gilberto, who was unemployed, with a big family to support and his permit to use his car as a private-licensed taxi had expired, literally welded himself a new job and cut up his sedan turning it into a pick-up truck to work in the private transport bussiness. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA)

Costumed revellers perform in the parade during the Notting Hill Carnival in London, Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. The carnival has been held every year since 1966 and one of the largest festival celebrations of its kind in Europe. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland)

Carmen Gonzalez rides in the back of a vintage car during a photo session in the old quarters of Havana as part of her quinceanera (coming-out for 15-year-olds) celebration, January 14, 2013. As nearly all Cuban girls dream of having a quinceanera, the industry that moves around that dream is large, with clients ranging from wealthy Cuban-Americans who travel back to the island to sponsor lavish parties, to regular Cubans who save a few hundred dollars over several years from their monthly $18 state wage. Picture taken January 14, 2013. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA)

A migrant laborer cleans planks extracted from a palm tree to procure materials to build a home on a piece of fallow state-owned land on the outskirts of Havana June 15, 2012. Thousands of migrant laborers from the east of the country arrive every year to Havana and the outskirts, build homes illegaly to settle, and start a new life and jobs. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA)

A migrant laborer carries a branch for a thatched roof during work building a home on a piece of fallow state-owned land on the outskirts of Havana June 25, 2012. Thousands of migrant laborers from the east of the country arrive every year to Havana and the outskirts, build homes illegaly to settle, and start a new life and jobs. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA)

Carmen Gonzalez (R) is carried into a swimming pool by a friend during her quinceanera (coming-out for 15-year-olds) party, January 19, 2013. As nearly all Cuban girls dream of having a quinceanera, the industry that moves around that dream is large, with clients ranging from wealthy Cuban-Americans who travel back to the island to sponsor lavish parties, to regular Cubans who save a few hundred dollars over several years from their monthly $18 state wage. Picture taken January 19, 2013. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA)

Cuba’s Dayron Robles gets ready to compete in the men’s 110m hurdles final of a local athletics competition at the Pan American Stadium in Havana, May 27, 2012. Robles, current world record holder in the event and gold medalist in the Beijing Olympics, told Reuters that he will retire after the 2012 Games in London. Picture taken May 27, 2012. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA_

Cuba’s Dayron Robles competes in the men’s 110m hurdles final of a local athletics competition at the Pan American Stadium in Havana, May 27, 2012. Robles, current world record holder in the event and gold medalist in the Beijing Olympics, told Reuters that he will retire after the 2012 Games in London. Picture taken May 27, 2012. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA_

Cuba’s Dayron Robles competes in the men’s 110m hurdles final of a local athletics competition at the Pan American Stadium in Havana, May 27, 2012. Robles, current world record holder in the event and gold medalist in the Beijing Olympics, told Reuters that he will retire after the 2012 Games in London. Picture taken May 27, 2012. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA_

Carmen Gonzalez has makeup applied during a photo session for her quinceanera (coming-out for 15-year-olds) celebration, in Havana, January 14, 2013. As nearly all Cuban girls dream of having a quinceanera, the industry that moves around that dream is large, with clients ranging from wealthy Cuban-Americans who travel back to the island to sponsor lavish parties, to regular Cubans who save a few hundred dollars over several years from their monthly $18 state wage. Picture taken January 14, 2013. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA)

A migrant laborer works building a home on a piece of fallow state-owned land on the outskirts of Havana June 29, 2012. Thousands of migrant laborers from the east of the country arrive every year to Havana and the outskirts, build homes illegaly to settle, and start a new life and jobs. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA)

Tourists look at a classic American car parked beside the cruise ship terminal in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Desmond Boylan)

Cuba Diplomats Under Attack

A woman fixes the ring on a high end ‘Behike 56’ cigar at the Cohiba factory ‘El Laguito’ in Havana September 10, 2012. (Photo by Desmond Boylan/Reuters)

Tourists fill the famous La Bodeguita del Medio bar where U.S. author Ernest Hemingway used to drink in Old Havana.

Tourists ride in a Cadillac 1952 convertible along Havana’s seafront boulevard El Malecon, February 9, 2010. (Photo by Desmond Boylan/Reuters)

A woman sorts cigars at the Cohiba cigar factory ‘El Laguito’ in Havana September 10, 2012. (Photo by Desmond Boylan/Reuters)

Cuba’s Dayron Robles is surrounded by fans after competing in the men’s 110m hurdles final of a local athletics competition at the Pan American Stadium in Havana, May 27, 2012. Robles, current world record holder in the event and gold medalist in the Beijing Olympics, told Reuters that he will retire after the 2012 Games in London. Picture taken May 27, 2012. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA_

A man sits on his Czech-made 1962 model CZ 502 scooter in the village of Artemisa, west of Havana, February 6, 2010. (Photo by Desmond Boylan/Reuters)

Cuban farmhand Bienvenido Castillo pauses while doing chores on a neighbor’s dairy farm in Aranguito near Havana, before sunrise May 24, 2012. Lilly has been doing the job of cow herder and animal breeder for the past 25 years, and in spite of being 74 years old and having a colostomy, he works some 16 hours and walks at least 9 miles (14 km) a day. The milk from the cows he raises is collected and brought to a state cooperative and then distributed to schools, old peopleÕs homes and state rationing shops. Picture taken May 24, 2012. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA)

70-year-old Gilberto Ruiz stands beside his modified 1948 Ford in Havana June 18, 2012. Gilberto, who was unemployed, with a big family to support and his permit to use his car as a private-licensed taxi had expired, literally welded himself a new job and cut up his sedan turning it into a pick-up truck to work in the private transport bussiness. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA)

People walk along the streets of downtown Havana, Cuba, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016. Fidel Castro, who led a rebel army to improbable victory in Cuba, embraced Soviet-style communism and defied the power of U.S. presidents during his half century rule, died at age 90 on Friday night. (AP Photo/Desmond Boylan)

Youths watch their roosters fight during a training session in Havana June 25, 2012. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA)

Fashion models are driven in vintage American convertible cars along the Malecon to take part in the Chanel fashion show in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, May 3, 2016. (Photo by Desmond Boylan/AP Photo)

Cuban farmhand Bienvenido Castillo milks a cow before dawn on a neighbor’s dairy farm in Aranguito near Havana, before sunrise May 23, 2012. Lilly has been doing the job of cow herder and animal breeder for the past 25 years, and in spite of being 74 years old and having a colostomy, he works some 16 hours and walks at least 9 miles (14 km) a day. The milk from the cows he raises is collected and brought to a state cooperative and then distributed to schools, old peopleÕs homes and state rationing shops. Picture taken May 23, 2012. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA)

This April 5, 2016 photo shows the Habana 21 restaurant, named for its address in Old Havana, Cuba. «When I arrived, it was totally different,» said the restraint’s owner Reinaldo Bordon, 44, who purchased the property where he runs one of the city’s top restaurants, with two friends three years ago. «If things continue at this pace, I think in another 10 years it will change a lot.» (AP Photo/Desmond Boylan)

Cuban farmhand Bienvenido Castillo walks to do chores on a neighbor’s dairy farm in Aranguito near Havana, before sunrise May 25, 2012. Lilly has been doing the job of cow herder and animal breeder for the past 25 years, and in spite of being 74 years old and having a colostomy, he works some 16 hours and walks at least 9 miles (14 km) a day. The milk from the cows he raises is collected and brought to a state cooperative and then distributed to schools, old peopleÕs homes and state rationing shops. Picture taken May 25, 2012. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA)

A child is baptized in a Catholic church in the village of Marti, Cuba, outside Havana, March 10. Pope Benedict XVI will visit Cuba March 26-28. (CNS photo/Desmond Boylan, Reuters) (March 8, 2012)

Carmen Gonzalez (near C) sits in her classroom a few days before her quinceanera (coming-out for 15-year-olds) celebration, in Havana, January 9, 2013. As nearly all Cuban girls dream of having a quinceanera, the industry that moves around that dream is large, with clients ranging from wealthy Cuban-Americans who travel back to the island to sponsor lavish parties, to regular Cubans who save a few hundred dollars over several years from their monthly $18 state wage. Picture taken January 9, 2013. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA)

Women, one wearing pants made with the U.S flag colors, work at their stalls selling flowers in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, April 9, 2015. (Photo by Desmond Boylan/AP Photo)

Undated picture shows a man near his fighting cock during fights at an arena in a military anti-aircraft bunker. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA)

Carmen Gonzalez (back C) approaches the roast pig being served at her quinceanera (coming-out for 15-year-olds) party in Havana, January 19, 2013. As nearly all Cuban girls dream of having a quinceanera, the industry that moves around that dream is large, with clients ranging from wealthy Cuban-Americans who travel back to the island to sponsor lavish parties, to regular Cubans who save a few hundred dollars over several years from their monthly $18 state wage. Picture taken January 19, 2013. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA)

Cubans file past, one holding a poster that depicts revolutionary hero Ernesto «Che» Guevara, in the annual May Day parade at Revolution Square in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, May 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Desmond Boylan)

Carmen Gonzalez has her hair straightened before her quinceanera (coming-out for 15-year-olds) celebration, in Havana, January 11, 2013. As nearly all Cuban girls dream of having a quinceanera, the industry that moves around that dream is large, with clients ranging from wealthy Cuban-Americans who travel back to the island to sponsor lavish parties, to regular Cubans who save a few hundred dollars over several years from their monthly $18 state wage. Picture taken January 11, 2013. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA)

Carmen Gonzalez (C) walks with her mother Marlen (L) for a photo session in the old quarters of Havana, for her quinceanera (coming-out for 15-year-olds) celebration, January 14, 2013. As nearly all Cuban girls dream of having a quinceanera, the industry that moves around that dream is large, with clients ranging from wealthy Cuban-Americans who travel back to the island to sponsor lavish parties, to regular Cubans who save a few hundred dollars over several years from their monthly $18 state wage. Picture taken January 14, 2013. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA)

FILE – In this Oct. 3, 2017, file photo, tourists ride classic convertible cars on the Malecon beside the United States Embassy in Havana, Cuba. Doctors treating the U.S. Embassy victims of mysterious, invisible attacks in Cuba have discovered brain abnormalities as they search for clues to hearing, vision, balance and memory damage, The Associated Press has learned. Physicians, FBI investigators and U.S. intelligence agencies have spent months trying to piece together the puzzle in Havana, where the U.S. says 24 government officials and spouses fell ill starting last year in homes and later in some hotels. (AP Photo/Desmond Boylan)

FILE – In this July 22, 2018 file photo, a man’s pet dog stands on his shoulder as they take a dip in the ocean with other swimmers near Playita 16 in Havana, Cuba. (AP Photo/Desmond Boylan, File)

In this Jan. 15, 2016 photo «House of Lie»s actor Don Cheadle smokes a cigar outside the Bodeguita Del Medio bar during a shoot of an episode in Havana, Cuba. Producers of «House of Lies» and other productions shot in Cuba said the 55-year-old U.S. trade embargo on Cuba posed the primary obstacle to U.S. entertainment companies’ hopes to the island into a tropical backdrop. But particularly Cuban difficulties could also prevent U.S. productions from regularly working on the island. (AP Photo/Desmond Boylan)

Street entertainer and fortune teller ¨Juana La Cubana¨ holds a cigar in her mouth as she waits for tourists in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, May 24, 2015. Juana is 72 years old and has worked in the Cathedral square in Old Havana for 28 years. (AP Photo/Desmond Boylan)

Desmond Boylan

Por Óscar Colorado Nates*

En 1994 Desmond Boylan conoció a a Fidel Castro en la toma de posesión de Nelson Mandela. El fotógrafo irlandés le prestó su cámara al dignatario cubano quien le hizo algunas fotos a la prensa. Así inició el contacto de Boylan con Cuba. Luego, Desmond viajó a la isla caribeña donde conoció a su esposa Gloria González, y el enamoramiento fue para toda la vida.

Boylan nació en Irlanda en 1964. De niño se mudó a España y luego se hizo fotógrafo para The Associated Press en aquel país en 1989.  Luego trabajó para Reuters, donde cubrió la invasión estadounidense a Iraq, la guerra en la antigua Yugoslavia o el apartheid en Sudáfrica. Luego regresó a trabajar para su casa original, AP, aunque siempre mantuvo lazos con Reuters.

Pero lo que transformó la vida de Boylan fue Cuba. La llamaba «…la tierra más hermosa que jamás hayan visto los ojos»[1], y esa profunda conexión se notaba en sus fotos.

Durante más de 20 años Desmond Boylan fue el cronista visual de Cuba. Capturó momentos clave como la muerte de Fidel Castro y la llegada del Internet a la isla; las visitas de Rihanna o el Papa Francisco. Pero más importante aún fue su trabajo cotidiano.

Las fotografías de Boylan muestran un enorme esmero en la captura de la imagen, siempre cuidando la luz, el centro de interés, cambiando el ángulo de visión, agachándose cuando era necesario… Sus fotos parecen un auténtico libro de texto sobre cómo hacer fotografía.

Muchos grandes fotógrafos han estado en Cuba, baste recordar a Walker Evans o Cartier-Bresson. Mientras que estos maestros trabajaron exclusivamente en blanco y negro, Boylan le hizo justicia a la isla trabajando siempre a color. Y esa capa de sentido tan compleja el fotógrafo de AP supo aprovecharla con gracias e inteligencia.

Además de la vida cotidiana, llaman la atención historias como Sweet Fifiteen donde acompaña a las quinceañeras cubanas en aquel rito de paso fundamental de los 15 años. También resaltan sus crónicas sobre el trabajo cotidiano, tanto en los campos como en las fábricas. Se interesó por narrar visualmente la clandestinidad, desde las peleas de gallos y los hogares construidos de forma alternativa y a contrapelo.

Boylan fue un fotógrafo que supo usar las herramientas contemporáneas y fue un usuario activo de Instagram y Twitter, donde se puede apreciar también su trabajo fotográfico.

Desmond Boylan trabajaba haciendo fotografías sobre los preparativos de año nuevo cuando se sintió enfermo, pidió a una familia que le permitiera sentarse y no se levantó más. El fotógrafo que supo atrapar el aliento de cuba falleció a los 54 años el 29 de diciembre de 2018.

* Por Óscar Colorado Nates,
(Ciudad de México, 1969)

Académico, crítico, analista y promotor de la fotografía.

Realizó sus estudios doctorales en Ciencias de la Documentación por la Universidad Complutense de Madrid y de master en Narrativa y Producción Digital en la Universidad Panamericana (Cd. de México) donde es Investigador de Tiempo Completo y Profesor Titular de la Cátedra de Fotografía Avanzada así como Docente de Posgrado en Narrativa y Nuevas Tecnologías. 

Autor de libros como Fotografía 3.0; El Mejor Fotógrafo del Mundo; Instagram, el ojo del mundo; Fotografía de Documentalismo Social; Fotografía Artística Contemporánea; El Mejor Fotógrafo del Mundo y Pensamientos Decisivos: 650 reflexiones fotográficas. Editor del blog de fotografía Mirada Universal en el diario El Universal (Cd. de México). Director y conductor del programa de radio Imagen Líquida.   Co-creador de Cam-Man, el primer cómic mexicano sobre historia de la fotografía. Conferenciante internacional en foros académicos y de divulgación sobre la fotografía. 

Miembro del Seminario de Imagen y Cultura, la Asociación Mexicana de Estudios de Estética, el Seminario Permanente de Análisis y Crítica Cinematográfica (SEPANCINE) o de The Photographic Historical Society (Rochester, NY), entre otras.

Las opiniones vertidas en los artículos y producciones audio-visuales son personales.
© 2011-2018 by Óscar Colorado Nates. Todos los Derechos Reservados. Esta publicación se realiza sin fines de lucro y con fines de investigación, enseñanza y/o crítica académica, artística y/o científica. 

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[1] Michael Weissenstein, «AP photographer Desmond Boylan dies in Havana at 54». 30 de diciembre de 2018, consultada el 3 de enero de 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/ap-photographer-desmond-boylan-dies-in-havana-at-54/2018/12/30/5765c772-0c76-11e9-8f0c-6f878a26288a_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c3e142e98391