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A remarkable group of fouroriginal 1950s photographs documenting television production at Circuito CMQ inHavana, Cuba.
The four photographs form acontinuous production sequence centered on the same unidentified femaleperformer, wearing a striped top and neck scarf, on a constructed dock orwarehouse set filled with wooden crates, rope, sacks and other maritime props.
Most strikingly, two photographsreveal the machinery behind the performance. A massive studio television cameraprominently marked “CIRCUITO CMQ” appears beside the performers. In thewidest photograph, the woman and an unidentified male actor perform directly infront of the camera while its operator stands at the controls.
The remaining photographs bring usinside the scene itself: one is an unusually attractive production portrait ofthe woman leaning against the set amid crates and rope, while another capturesher performing with the same male actor.
These photographs came from thesame associated group as LT082, which includes a photograph handwritten on thereverse “Cabaret Regalia C.M.Q / Television 1955.” The shared provenanceand production context suggest a relationship with that material, but becausethe four LT083 photographs themselves are unmarked, they are notdefinitively attributed to Cabaret Regalías.
The performers remainunidentified.
Four original vintageblack-and-white photographs from the same television production sequence:
- Female performer posed among crates, rope, sacks and other dock/warehouse scenery.
- Female performer beside a large studio television camera, with “CIRCUITO” prominently visible.
- Female performer acting with an unidentified male performer on the same set.
- Wide behind-the-scenes view showing both performers, the large “CIRCUITO CMQ” television camera and its operator.
All four photographs shown areincluded.
HISTORICAL INTEREST
Commercial television was stillremarkably young when these photographs were made. CMQ-TV began broadcasting inthe early 1950s and rapidly developed into a major Cuban television network. Acontemporary industry source from 1953 describes the expansion of CMQ's networkand its microwave links between Cuban cities; by 1957, the industry TelevisionFactbook listed Havana's CMQ-TV, Circuito CMQ, Channel 6 as thecentral station of a five-station operating network.
That context makes the visibleequipment particularly compelling. These aren't simply photographs of Cubanentertainers. Two preserve the working television camera itself, and thewidest image even includes its operator. The viewer can simultaneously see theperformers, artificial scenery, camera and technician — essentially both sidesof a 1950s television production.
The four-image sequence also hasvalue as a small surviving production archive. Taken together, the photographsmove from something resembling a finished publicity image to progressivelywider views that expose the constructed scenery and finally the televisionapparatus just outside the performance.
That gives the group crossoverinterest in Cuban history, television history, broadcasting technology,early television cameras, Havana entertainment, women in television, LatinAmerican media history and pre-Revolutionary Cuban ephemera.
Inventory # LT083
