The woman was speaking quietly in spanish asking if we had any soap we could spare. Broke my heart. There were often bars on the windows, I found it oppressive, I wondered if they felt the same. The Virgin Mary watching in the background made the shot more interesting.
May 2016 update. Oddly I was approached by a woman, who's photographic style I very much admire, but had never met before. She mentioned this image specifically, and the irony is she knows something of this woman. She's corrected me on the statue in the background which is not the Virgin Mary, and has now reached out to share a picture with me. It's reminiscent of the Afghani Girl that showed up on a National Geographic cover with riveting eyes, if you're a similar age to me, you'll know the one I'm referring to. She was kind of enough to contact me, and I'm hoping to learn more about this story. Stay tuned ...
Location: Cienfuegos, Cuba
Photographer: Robert Bailey
