Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Nicola Lo Calzo

Nicola Lo Calzo

Nicola Lo Calzo is a Paris-based photographer whose work has been exhibited at the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam and other venues. A regular contributor to the New Yorker, the New York Times, and Le Monde, his most recent book, Obia, chronicles the descendants of escaped slaves in French Guiana and Suriname. (Photo Credit: Hamid Blad)

Stories from this author

During an initiation ceremony for the Afro-Cuban secret society called Abakuá in the Havana district of Regla, a young aspirant depicts Aberisún, an ireme, or spirit messenger.

Venture Inside Cuba’s Secret Societies

From Masons to Santería priests, photographer Nicola Lo Calzo offers a glimpse into the island’s many subcultures