Photo of Havana generates debate on social networks

A Cuban woman, with no experience in photography, shared on social networks aimage of Havana which unleashed thousands of comments for and against.

Edelmira Soto Smith (61 years old), left a message in the group ofFacebook Photos of Havana where she confessed that she felt very bad when some people criticized her for showing a beautiful landscape of her hometown.

"I never thought that for a simple photo that I considered pretty, taken from my cell phone, two people were going to get me out of my mind by telling me to putthe ugly of Havana", said.

The Cuban considers that it is not obligatory to show the unpleasant face of the city and believes that there is beauty in everyday life, beyond the sorrows that the city experiences.Cuban people.

"I took that photo by chance. I'm not a photographer, I took it because from the angle I was at, I thought it was going to be pretty and I wanted to share it without filters, because I don't even know how to do it," commented the author.

The image was taken from thePaseo del Prado, looking towards himTelegrafo Hotel, heGreat Theater of Havana and with himCapitol background. The contrast between blue and white tones stands out, but this did not motivate the debate.

The controversy is whether it is correct or not, in the current context of Cuba, to show the beauty of a capital that suffers.continuous landslides, where citizensthey don't have resources to restore buildings and thegovernment only invests in hotels to attract tourism.

Facebook users have left, until the time of writing this note,more than 4,490 comments and has been shared400 times the post. One of the messages that has the most interactions invites us to respect freedom of expression.

"You are the owner of your actions. These are the consequences of the hatred sown for years between the children of the same mother, our Country. Your photo is beautiful. Love is repaid with Love," said the user.

"Why this desire of some people to want to show only the misery and the ugly? It is true that things in this country are more than bad (...) but refusing to see and appreciate, within so much chaos and disaster, What little beauty there is seems to me to be sovereign extremism," said another.

There were also comments loaded with Cuban humor. One person encouraged the author by reminding her that "the picky ones, when they go to take a photo, comb their hair, put on their dentures, and dress well. Most of them don't take a photo right after waking up."

Edelmira dreams of one day having a professional camera, to take a course and dedicate herself to this art that seeks to reinterpret reality with images.

"Every day I become more convinced that social networks are a "Digital Solar" and that if you don't publish what some want, they will call you everything, without knowing you," said the Cuban after proudly showing hernice photo of Havana.