Photos: Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed visits Cuba

Metro Atlanta

The AJC in Cuba: Atlantans visit Havana

Photos: Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed visits Cuba

Mayor Kasim Reed, Councilman Kwanza Hall and a group of Atlantans visiting Havana met with local hip-hop artists Magia Lopez, seen second from left, and Alexey Rodriguez at their home in Regla on Sunday. The artists spoke about issues, including race and gender inequality in Cuba.

Mayor Kasim Reed arrives in Havana on Saturday, June 25, with the World Affairs Council of Atlanta. Reed says he's here to pitch Atlanta as a future business partner with Cuba, pending relaxing travel and trade regulations.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed takes photos of Regla, one of Havana's poorest neighborhoods, on Sunday, June 28, 2015.

Atlanta Councilman Kwanza Hall takes a ride in a local taxi in Havana on Monday, June 29, 2015. Hall traveled to Cuba with a group from the World Affairs Council of Atlanta.

Jorge Fernandez, a Metro Atlanta Chamber executive and Cuban native, holds up a copy of a Revolution-themed comic book he was given as a small boy in Havana.

Silvia Fernandez left Cuba as a child in 1961 and returned for the first time in June 2015.

Mayor Kasim Reed swapped out his suit for island fashion on Saturday during his first trip to Cuba.

Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall takes photos of downtown Havana on Sunday. Cuba expects a boon in American tourists in coming years as travel and trade restrictions begin to ease.

Jorge Fernandez squeezes sugarcane outside Ernest Hemingway's home on Saturday.

Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson traveled to Cuba in 1989 and 1991 to help secure votes for Atlanta's Olympics. Jackson met with Cuban leader Fidel Castro on both of those trips, according to his former spokesman, Angelo Fuster. Here, Jackson meets with Castro in 1989.

In 1991, Jackson (far left) returned to Cuba and met with Fidel Castro once again.

Atlantans walk around Ernest Hemingway's property on Saturday, June 27, 2015 in Cuba.

Nathan Bennett, an associate dean at Georgia State University, introduces himself to the other travelers on Saturday, June 27, 2015.

Emory University's Kathy Kite, left, and Georgia Tech's Jacqueline Jones Royster wait to be served drinks outside Ernest Hemingway's home on Saturday, June 27, 2015.

From left: Charles Shapiro, president of World Affairs Council of Atlanta; Jacqueline Jones Royster, Ivan Allen Jr. Dean's Chair in liberal arts and technology at Georgia Tech; and Kathy Kite of Emory University enjoy a dinner Tuesday, June 30, 2015, on a trade mission trip to Havana, Cuba.

Silvia and Jorge Fernandez, who each left Havana, Cuba, as children, arrive in their native country on Saturday, June 27, 2015.

Rene Diaz takes a spin on a sugarcane press outside Ernest Hemingway's home in Cuba.

Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed pose in front of a Che Guevara painting in Havana.

Atlanta Councilman Kwanza Hall checks out a local hair salon and art museum in Havana.

The group of mostly Atlantans with the World Affairs Council of Atlanta outside Ernest Hemingway's countryside home on Saturday, June 27, 2015.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and Claire Angelle, Atlanta's international affairs director, walk to dinner on Tuesday, June 30, 2015 in Havana.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed shares a laugh with Jorge and Silvia Fernandez (seen to his right and left) during a lunch in Havana on Sunday, June 28, 2015.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed walks around the grounds at Hotel Nacionale in Havana, Cuba on Saturday, June 27, 2015.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and the group with the World Affairs Council of Atlanta waited for well over an hour for their luggage to arrive at the airport in Havana on Saturday, June 27, 2015.

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Mayor Kasim Reed, Councilman Kwanza Hall and a group of Atlantans visiting Havana met with local hip-hop artists Magia Lopez, seen second from left, and Alexey Rodriguez at their home in Regla on Sunday. The artists spoke about issues, including race and gender inequality in Cuba.

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