On the Cover: Kwong Wah Po and the 71 Series

Figure 1.

Kwong Wah Po, from the 71 series. Maria Lau © 2003. Courtesy: the artist.

Superimposed on the hood of this sleek black car is the title of the sole remaining Chinese newspaper published in Cuba. It was important to capture the juxtaposition between the well-preserved car and the image of the name of the newspaper, Diario Popular Chino, founded in 1928 and relaunched in 2017 aft er a five-year hiatus. The newspaper, which struggles to find employees who know how to typeset Chinese characters, is printed using surviving nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century equipment.

The cover image is selected from a three-part photographic series known as 71, which I started as a personal mission, on behalf of my Cuban family, to find my two aunts who were born in China, on my Chinese grandfather's side of the family. What ensued was a ten-year journey of family, history, spiritual discovery, and the ultimate unification of Cuban and Chinese siblings.

Throughout those years, I created artwork and installations about my search. During my second trip to Cuba, I began photographing street scenes of Havana's Chinatown. The photographs are fragments of a historical narrative of the Chinese community that once lived there and its dramatic decline aft er the revolution in 1959. The plaques and signs on buildings were the only remnants of the thriving Chinese community that was once considered the largest Chinatown in the Americas.

The photographic process I used for the 71 series was in-camera multiple exposures, which leaves much of the resulting image to chance. The experience of searching for my aunts and for information on my Chinese grandfather was like that in-camera process. I had set intentions of what I wanted, but it was always a surprise what would happen. Having the creative process reflect my personal experience was important to me. Photography for me is not just technically capturing a moment; it is a process, a style, and ultimately a story.

The 71 series over the years became a journey that didn't end with familial unification. Instead it became the path to communing with the ancestral spirit and discovering the essence of what unites us. 71 became the expression of history, family, identity, dreams, and spirit.

The one photo that is not part of 71 is Santera. This is one of the earliest photos that I took in Havana, during my first trip there, before my 71 project had even begun. However, I like to see this woman as the initiator of my journey, for soon after I took her photo, my uncle told me about my Chinese family history, and 71 was conceived.

Figure 2.

Santera. Maria Lau © 1997. Courtesy: the artist.

Figure 3.

Untitled, from the 71 series. Maria Lau © 2016. Courtesy: the artist.

Figure 4.

Tai Pai, from the 71 series. Maria Lau © 2003. Courtesy: the artist.

Figure 5.

Dad Divination, from the 71 series. Maria Lau © 2003. Courtesy: the artist.

Figure 6.

Chevrolet Chino '57, from the 71 series. Maria Lau © 2009. Courtesy: the artist.

Figure 7.

Say Jo, from the 71 series. Maria Lau © 2003. Courtesy: the artist.

Figure 8.

Chinese Car, from the 71 series. Maria Lau © 2003. Courtesy: the artist.

Figure 9.

Chung Shan, from the 71 series. Maria Lau © 2003. Courtesy: the artist.

Figure 10.

Wong Kong, from the 71 series. Maria Lau © 2009. Courtesy: the artist.

Figure 11.

Ford '55, from the 71 series. Maria Lau © 2009. Courtesy: the artist.