Zilia @ziliazoo - Tumblr Blog

Continuing the celebration of the photographer’s birthday today, a selection of Carl Van Vechten’s brilliant color portraits of African American performers: Billie Holiday, Geoffrey Holder, Pearl Bailey, Carmen De Lavallade, Ella Fitzgerald, Joyce Bryant, Harry Belafonte, Ethel Waters, James Earl Jones, and Blanche Dunn.

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“All I knew about Cuba was that people drove old American cars and that Ché Guevara was tied with Bob Marley as most popular poster in dorm rooms. Then my friend Erin invited me on a 2-week trip to Havana. The first thing I noticed in Havana was that the city was dark at night. There were no streetlights, porch lights or living-room lamps. It was pitch black except for the faint colorful glow spilling out of open doors everywhere, and it came from the TVs. The light captivated me. For the next two weeks I wandered around, slipping in and out of strangers’ living rooms. Each time I came across an open door and a working TV set, I would ask if I could take a picture. The answer was always yes. Nobody seemed to think it was an odd request and it was usually accompanied by a Cuban coffee or rum.”

Simone Lueck