The Sugarcane Millionaires
“These men are not rich by the traditionally accepted definition of money, rather by virtue of having managed to harvest a certain amount of sugarcane.”
Sugarcane harvesting is probably one of the hardest jobs in the world. For one, the plant grows in the tropics where the climate is perennially very hot and humid. The cane is strong and solid, growing to between two and six meters tall. The plantations are usually heavily vegetated and the leaves have sharp edges that often cut through. Workers therefore need to protect themselves well, wearing hats, long-sleeved shirts, long trousers, and heavy boots. They wake up very early in the morning to start cutting while it is still dark so that they can finish before the heat gets too unbearable. Yet sometimes, these men are out in the fields at high noon, tackling the the strong sugarcane with their machetes.
This is the very moment I chose for most of the portraits. I wanted the strong contrast, to embed the harsh environments that these workers face out in the fields. At the same time, I also wanted to emphasize their faces through the use of a soft umbrella light mounted on a studio strobe.
I had applied for a permit to shoot this series with the Press Center of Cuba’s Foreign Ministry and they put me in contact with the party headquarter in Camagüey, the province in the heart of Cuba where I wanted to shoot the essay. When we got out to the fields, I would try not to disturb the workers and would just watch and observe. But whenever I’d see a situation that caught my attention, I would just say, “Stop, don’t move, I will explain later.” As my assistant and I would set up the lights, the workers would not move at all. Once I would finish taking my photos, I would then explain my mission and they were always very happy to have a German photojournalist seemingly interested in making their portraits. Months later, when I went back there again with prints of their photographs, they were ecstatic.
The series was awarded First Place in the category “Working Men” at the 16th Latin-American Documentary Photography Contest. While there have been some critical voices complaining that the workers were wearing old torn shirts, I maintain that “This is the reality, this is the way it was, is, and always will be out in the fields. It would not make sense to have them put on new shirts, since that would not show their reality.”
Furthermore, I personally don’t see it in a negative way. These are extremely tough workers who do a hell of a job in very demanding conditions. These men are not rich by the traditionally accepted definition of money but many of them are “millionaires” because in Cuba a “sugarcane millionaire” is a cane cutter who has managed to harvest a certain amount of sugarcane. One is rich by virtue of what one produces, not earns — a different perspective for sure. For me, they are all heroes and have my deepest respect for their hard work, while being such humble human beings. Thank you, Sugarcane Millionaires!
2008. Sven Creutzmann in the fields with the sugarcane millionaires
