Demétrio Jereissati, a marathon runner and amateur photographer from Fortaleza, Brazil, has been documenting urban life through his camera lens for nearly two decades. His dedication to capturing authentic street scenes led him to take what he considers one of his best phone photographs during a 2019 trip to Havana, Cuba.
Jereissati's daily routine in his hometown involves early morning runs that serve a dual purpose. "Each morning I head out early for a run, observing and storing the city in my memory," he explains. "Every day reveals new angles and unexpected scenes. For me, these early hours are an exercise in truly seeing." This practice of combining physical exercise with visual exploration has shaped his approach to photography over the past twenty years.
The memorable photograph was taken during a visit to Havana with friends in 2019. Breaking away from his group, Jereissati ventured out alone at 6 a.m. for his customary morning run. As he approached the famous Malecón waterfront promenade, the rising sun cast a golden glow across the city below, immediately catching his attention with its photographic potential.
A particular building along the route drew his photographer's eye with its distinctive characteristics. "I was drawn by the distinctive architectural lines and windows, and its condition," Jereissati notes. The structure embodied the essence of Havana's architectural heritage, representing the old, majestic buildings that frame the daily life of people filling the streets, accompanied by the iconic classic cars cruising back and forth through the Cuban capital.
The perfect shot emerged through a combination of planning and serendipity. Jereissati took several shots on his phone, initially attempting to capture a young man wearing red shorts who was passing by the building. However, the scene transformed unexpectedly when a speeding car of the same red color suddenly entered the frame, creating an unplanned but harmonious composition.
"The speeding car created the perfect, eclectic scene," Jereissati reflects on the moment. "When I shoot, I try to weave together my own personal vision of a place, and this shot did just that." The photograph successfully captured multiple elements of Cuban street life - the colonial architecture, pedestrian activity, and vintage automobiles - all unified by the striking red color that connected the human figure with the moving vehicle.
Following their time in Havana, Jereissati and his friends traveled to the rural town of Viñales, where tobacco farming dominates the landscape and local economy. Despite experiencing the different facets of Cuban life in the countryside, the urban scene he captured in Havana remained deeply embedded in his memory. "Later, we headed to the rural town of Viñales, where tobacco is the main protagonist, but my memory of this scene, and the Cuba it captures, never fades," he concludes, emphasizing the lasting impact of that perfectly timed photograph.
