When photographer Ellen Silverman first visited Cuba in 2010, little did she know that the visit would change her life, yielding a stunning body of work. It includes exhibitions of her photographs of often very inventive Cuban kitchens and homes, The Cuban Table cookbook, and My Roots Lie Here, a film about the culture that would find its way to film festivals around the world. She fell in love with Cuba’s culture rich with Pre-Columbian, Spanish, Caribbean, African even Chinese and French influences, and the generous people she met, and returned many times to travel through the country.

Just as Cuba is on the verge of its own big changes, Ellen will be leading a tour “At Home in Havana” with Carlos Otero, an award-winning Cuban photographer and Havana native. Initially geared for photographers, it is a rare opportunity for just about anyone who wishes to visit private homes in Havana and engage with their owners. The trip will afford what, to us, is the real “gold” of traveling: visiting people’s homes and navigating with people who know the territory. It yields the clearest insight into what life in the country is really like.

Check out the trailer of Ellen’s My Roots Lie Here. (Video link here.)

For info about Ellen’s At Home in Havana tour, click here.