Biography
Manuel Almenares Estrada was born in 1992 in Havana, the capital of Cuba.
2007-2010 — He studied high school at the Vladimir Ilich Lenin Vocational Pre-University Institute of Exact Sciences.
After finishing his military service, he worked as a messenger at the Sacred Greek Orthodox Cathedral of San Nicolas de Mira in Havana, where he had his first contacts with photography by working as a photojournalist for religious activities.
2014-2017 — at the Cabrales del Valle Academy of Art and Photography he studied the levels of Photographic Technique, Photographic Appreciation, Photographic Composition, Genres and Styles of Photography and Portrait Technique.
2016 — he work as a free lance for the company 'Fathom'.
2016-2019 — Manuel was the photographer for Opus Habana Magazine of the Office of the City Historian (OHC). It was during this period that he gained working experience as a photojournalist and decided to channel his personal work towards documentary photography with a marked humanist bias.
Since 2020 — associate member of the Agencia Jíbaro Photos.
Since 2023 — member of the Noga Creative Union.
Awards & Honors
2020 — Grand Prize of Cuban Photo Library and Grant of Alfredo Sarabia, to the essay: 'The disease over the disease' (2020) at the IX Alfredo Sarabia in Memoriam Photography Biennial.
Solo exhibitions
2021 — The disease on the disease, The South Florida Latin American Photography Forum (SoFLaFoto), Miami, Florida, USA.
2019 — Black Wall (Guest artist’s wall), Series: 'Once upon a time in the west…', Cuban Art Factory, Havana, Cuba.
2018 — guest artist at the 17th ICAIC Youth Show, Charles Chaplin Gallery and public intervention at Variedades 23 y 10 (Ten Cents) Expo: 'Verbo de perro', Havana, Cuba.
Group exhibitions
2020 — City Vs Quarentine, Lviv region, Ukraine.
2020 — Contemporary Stories, Casa América, Madrid, Spain.
2019 — 8th House, XIII Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba.
2017 — Double Play, Cuatro Caminos Photo-Museum, Series: 'Once upon a time in the west…', Mexico City, Mexico.
2017 — Cuba trhough our eyes, University of Washington Tower Seattle, Washington, USA.
2017 — exhibition of the Creative Workshop of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, Sala Rubén Martínez Villena, Galería UNEAC, Havana, Cuba.
2017 — exhibition of the Cabrales del Valle Academy on the occasion of the Day of Cuban Photography, Hall of Diversity of Old Havana, Havana, Cuba.
2016 — Light to your own Chemistry, photographic project of the University of the Arts (ISA), Gallery of the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba, Havana, Cuba.
2016 — The 1st Photography Salon of the Cabrales del Valle Academy, Gallery of the University of Havana, Havana, Cuba.
2016 — Eroticism in art, San Antonio de los Baños Municipal Museum, Cuba.
2015 — Impronta, Canal Habana Art Gallery, Havana, Cuba.