Chip Cooper and Julio Larramendi

Campesino, Inside The Soul of Cuba, captures the heart and soul of Cuba, the campesino, the country people. Going places all over the island, many Cubans have never seen many Americans. Julio Larramendi and Chip Cooper have photographed all aspects of life in the rural countryside of Cuba. Photographs that show a way of living that has not changed much in the last century. Chapters will show the landscapes and communities, children and education, work, social life, traditions, religion, houses and portraits of the people.

Chip Cooper, was former Director of Photography for the University of Alabama for 33 years and is now Artist in Residence in the Honors College.

He received his BA from the University of Alabama in 1972 followed by post-grad work in photography.

While working for the University he has published the following books: Hunting the Southern Tradition (Taylor Publishing - Dallas Texas,) Alabama Memories (WH Smith-New York City,) Silent in the Land (CKM Press - Tuscaloosa, Alabama,) Common Threads (CKM Press - Tuscaloosa Alabama,) Crimson - The University of Alabama (Booksmith Group - Nashville Tennessee,) Charlie Lucas - The Tin Man (University of Alabama Press - Tuscaloosa Alabama,) and Habana Veija - Old Havana (University of Alabama Press - Tuscaloosa Alabama) with Cuban photographer Nestor Marti.

He is finishing a book, Campesinos in the Soul of Cuba, to be published by Alabama Press in 2016.

He has shown his work nationally and internationally, and his work is in many museums, private and corporate collections. The last exhibitions in 2014 and 2015 were in Havana, Topes de Collantes and Trinidad, Cuba, Italy, The Vatican, and several cities in the USA.

He was invited by the Cuban Embassy to the Vatican and The Holly See to exhibit the Campesinos collection for the 80th Anniversary of the Diplomatic relationships between the two countries.

Cooper won an Award of Excellence for his book Silent in the Land from Communications Arts Magazine and is a past recipient of an Artist Fellowship for the Alabama State Council on the Arts. Since March 2014, he is a Visiting Artist in Residence of Fototeca de Cuba.

Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird, says about Cooper, "You are a very great American photographer plus Georgia O'Keefe rolled into one. O'Keefe because you have her eye. You paint with film."

Julio Larramendi was born on March 25, 1954 in the city of Santiago de Cuba.

From 1971 to 1975, he studied chemistry in the USSR. In 1980, he graduated with a Bachelor of Chemistry at the University of Havana. He also recieved the title of Doctor of Technical Sciences in 1994.

Julio started in photography in 1969. During his stay in the USSR, he received courses of technical, scientific, and artistic photography.

In 1975, he began to work in a specialized laboratory technical and scientific photography, directing from 1983 to 1997. He has lectured, taught core courses, postgraduate, and photography workshops in both Cuba and abroad.

He has presented solo exhibitions in various cities of Cuba, Mexico, Sweden, Spain, Costa Rica, and the U.S. He earned first prizes in two competitions, "International Stock 90 Hunting," and "June 6."

He has published almost 50 books on a variety of subjects from wildlife, people, architecture and underwater. He edited the magazine "Afro-Asia International Markets."

In 1998 he released the CD "350 Postcards Cuba" made entirely with photographs. In addition to providing images and multimedia CDs, he has also directed commercial, tourist, industrial and service companies. He brought pictures to "CUBAVip," Cubatravel, SOFTEL, Cubasi, ICAIC, Havana Pictures, Cubanacan, Infocom and other websites.

Julio was chosen by the CUBA-FOTO Magazine among the 100 best Cuban photographers of the twentieth century. He has participated as an organizer and jury in international events and photography competitions.

In November 2003, the Julio Larramendi Gallery opened at the Hotel Conde de Villanueva in Old Havana.

He received the National Award "2003 Space" in photography for the "Tribute to Compay Segundo" and in the Ad Campaigs category by "Habanaguanex."

Julio is a member of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, the Union of Journalists of Cuba, the Cuban Association of Social Communicators, FIAP, Cairman of the Management Group of the Cuban Association of Image of Nature, presiding Chair School of American Photography from the International Institute of Journalism, part of the Cuban Zoological Society and is an Associate Researcher at the National Museum of Natural History of Cuba.

Currently, he is working with American photographer Chip Cooper on a new book about the Cuban Presant.