CubaPLUS Magazine

Alejandro Pérez, an Image Enthusiast

By: Mercy Ramos
Alejandro Pérez, an Image Enthusiast

A picture says a thousand words. That's the motto of Alejandro Pérez, a talented photographer with over 20 national and international awards.

Alejandro Pérez, an Image EnthusiastFilmmaker, photography director and cameraman for movies, television and video and still a photographer in his spare time, Alejandro Pérez is also one of the most influential Cuban photographers with more than two hundred products in movies, television, video and still photography released.

During his interview with Cubaplus, Pérez, spoke about his professional life which began in the early 1980's.

Alejandro Pérez, an Image EnthusiastI first was a teacher. I got out of college at a young age, barely 17. After three years of teaching I realized I was not made to be a teacher and started looking for other jobs until I started a cameraman course at the Armed Forces Ministry Film Studios."

There I worked tirelessly; I was even a war correspondent in Angola during its civil war, and just to become a photography director, I had to work in different positions for a period of almost 10 years. Even so, I reached my goal in a little more than 3 years, thanks to all the hard work, but it cost me my marriage at the time."

Talkative and joyful, Alejandro Pérez is a natural born speaker, especially when talking about his profession. I later started freelancing, which was a big challenge at that time."

Alejandro Pérez, an Image EnthusiastSince then, I have worked in different positions in more than a 100 films and short films, documentaries and video clips. I have also worked as a photographer for more than 40 records by important Cuban musicians, among them the stand out jazz pianist and Grammy winner Chucho Valdés."

Pérez has a great passion for the image. One of his usual workdays takes almost 24 hours shared between his studio in eastern Havana outskirts, and another location used at the time for a photo shoot.

Many times I leave home really early, when my wife and daughter are still asleep and I comeback when they are already sleeping. I owe everything I am to my family, especially to my wife. You really have to love someone very much to accept this kind of life."

Alejandro Pérez, an Image EnthusiastPresently, Pérez is involved in the making of several video clips. Talking about his future he enthusiastically mentioned a project he considers a great challenge: directing a comedy about present-day Cuba which is a very ambitious undertaking because directing a film has a lot of strict requirements and will be a challenge".

When asked what his work means to him, he said, When you discover the magic the light has and how you can handle it to achieve the reality spectators see on a screen, that is something difficult to achieve even after many years of experience, and that is, for me, a passion, and a devotion".

Contact Information:
Edificio 6 apto 302, Reparto Camilo Cienfuegos, H. del Este, La Habana, Cuba.
Tel: +(53 7) 768 3402
Cell phone: +(53 5) 281 7058
Email: aleperez@cubarte.cult.cu

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