Martínez Otero, Manuel

Spanish photographer based in Cuba. Son and grandson of military personnel, he enlisted in the army as a volunteer at the age of thirteen, seeking a solution to his difficult situation after becoming orphaned. He participated in the Carlist campaign until he entered the Infantry Academy of Toledo in early 1877. That same year, he arrived in Cuba as a member of the Army of Overseas, rejecting the reasons behind the war from the beginning. After the end of the 1868 conflict, he was assigned to the garrison of Victoria de Las Tunas first, and then Holguín, where he was discharged in 1881. At the beginning of the 1895 war, he embarked for Spain, taking his family with him, but the precarious economic situation in the country forced him to return to Cuba after the war ended. He settled in Havana and took on various jobs. He had already had contact with photography and attempted to work in this profession, but in the Cuban capital, there were already a good number of established studios. A friend told him about Caibarién, a coastal town with notable economic progress, and he decided to try his luck in this locality in the central region of the country. His first studio became a modest gallery, and his fame grew rapidly, attracting both the townspeople and those from nearby areas to have their portraits taken. In 1905, his wife inherited property and built a new photographic studio on the corner of Céspedes (11th Avenue) and Padre Varela (10th Street), with a waiting room, darkroom, and a gallery upstairs. The gallery had a wall and part of the roof made of glass, allowing light to enter. The entrance hall was converted into a permanent exhibition room, showcasing the best of his work.