By Laurence Salzmann

In Spanish, luchar means both to wrestle and to struggle. In his photo series La Lucha/The Struggle, American photographer Laurence Salzmann uses this ambiguity as a departure point to explore the relationship between athletic endeavor and national and personal survival. The focus of these photographs is the human form against the backdrop of a minimally equipped training studio. The images of the wrestlers in La Lucha display an appreciation of the masculine form and simultaneously scrutinize the role of sports in national identity.

Salzmann's photographs are complemented by the expressive paintings of the Cuban artist Luis El Estudiante interpreting the struggle in a parallel but distinctive way.

With an introduction by Cuban poet Antonio José Ponte.

Designed by Jodi Netzer (cover) and Aki Shigemori (layout)

Published by Blue Flower Press
Bilingual, with all texts in English and Spanish

Hardcover, 72 pages, 20 color & 36 duotone plates, 8.5 × 9.5 inches

ISBN: 978-0-9603924-5-2