Javier Goded: A Portrait of Cuban Resistance

At 66 years old, Porteño photographer Javier Goded builds a photographic trajectory that unites artistic expression and documentation as a form of memory construction. A native and resident of Buenos Aires, he began his training in the 1980s through photo clubs—true photographic schools very popular at the time—where he learned both aesthetic concepts and laboratory techniques that would form the foundation of his unique gaze.

The image “Lagnis,” a finalist in the Single Image category of the FotoDoc Photo Contest 2025, is a testament to his ability to capture moments of rare authenticity. Taken in 2016 at the legendary Rafael Trejo gym in Old Havana, the photograph portrays a Cuban amateur boxer in her moment of rest during a training session. The location, an open-air stronghold that has formed great champions and honors a student murdered during protests in 1930, serves as the perfect stage for this snapshot that transcends sport to reveal the resistance and dignity of the Cuban people. The image integrates perfectly into the photographer’s production, characterized by a respectful and immersive approach that privileges the construction of deeply human visual narratives.

Learn more about this work and the photographer’s current projects in the following interview.

How old are you? Where do you currently live and work?

I am 66 years old. I am from Buenos Aires, where I was born and live.

Tell us about your journey in photography. When did you start photographing and why? What role does photography play in your life?

I started in the 80s by taking workshops in various photo clubs, a kind of photographic school very much in vogue at that time. There I learned various concepts of capture and aesthetics, as well as laboratory techniques.

Photography is the language I use as a form of artistic and documentary expression. It is the language I have chosen for the construction of memory.

Tell us about your finalist work for the FotoDoc Photo Contest 2025. When and where was it created? What is its concept? How does it fit into your photographic practice?

The finalist photograph “Lagnis” is a portrait of a Cuban amateur boxer in Havana in 2016. I took the image during a rest moment in a training session.

On a random walk down Cuba Street, I found the Rafael Trejo gym, an old open-air stronghold where boxers of all genders and ages train. Great champions have come from there.

There are few boxing gyms as special and full of traditions enriched by their history as the Rafael Trejo in Old Havana.

It is a jewel hidden among old and dilapidated buildings. It is hard to find. Its name pays homage to a Cuban law student who was murdered while participating in a protest against the government of Gerardo Machado in 1930.

Asking for permission, I joined the last hour of training that day.

“Lagnis” is part of that moment.

What projects are you currently working on? What are your near-future plans for photographic production?

I am currently presenting my first book, “Archipiélago,” a work that documents my stay in the Chiloé Archipelago, a conversation with its community through photos, texts, and poetry.

My immediate plans are the presentation of the book and the planning of a new project in Chiloé and another project about amateur astronomers (male and female).