Luna Tristá
“When I decide to photograph a woman, the first things that catch my eye are her audacity, insolence, determination and beauty,” says photographer Luna Tristá. “When I connect with the person that I take pictures of, I also connect with myself, and her story is my story and vice versa. It’s like a wild dream.” Before becoming a professional photographer, Tristá spent seven years learning how to play the violin. “I began studying photography because of the need to express myself,” she says. “It was the beginning of a personal quest to find a way to communicate without using spoken language. Photography became visceral; it changed the way I see the world for good.” Her work has been exhibited widely, and she has photo collections for view on her website, including “She’s My Man,” portraits of her partner that challenge the idea of gender as fixed. Tristá says her birthplace of Havana, Cuba continues to fuel her work. “I am convinced that I couldn’t create the same photos [if] I wasn’t born in Cuba,” she says. “The memories I have of Havana, its decay, its women and the strength that characterizes the Cuban people—these things are what lead me to work as I do.” —GH
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