Published:  00:00 Sunday - October 10, 2010

A photography exhibition on Vietnam by famous Cuban photographer and war reporter Roberto Salas opened in Havana on October 8 to mark the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi and the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Cuba diplomatic ties.

Attending the opening were Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba Vu Chi Cong, Cuban first deputy Foreign Minister Marcelino Medina, Vice President of the Cuba-Vietnam Friendship Association Joel Diaz and representatives from the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the People (ICAP) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR).

On display were over 40 black and white photos taken during Salas’s visits to Vietnam from 1966 to1984, most notably pictures of the late President Ho Chi Minh, Prime Minister Pham Van Dong, Kham Thien street in ruins after the US bombing in 1972, the innocent faces of children during the war and the daily lives of Vietnamese people.

Salas affirmed that the photos of Vietnam were the most successful works of his 50-year career because they are the result of his love for Vietnam.

The exhibition is jointly held by the Havana History Office and the National Fine Arts Council.

The same day, another exhibition entitled “Vietnamese Faces” by French photographer Cédric Pouralle opened in Paris, France in the presence of overseas Vietnamese and international friends.

The exhibition is the product of Pouralles’s journeys to Vietnam from 2005 to 2010, and features 20 photographs of the Vietnamese land and people of all ages, walks of life and ethnic groups.