Vivid photos of Cuba in 1954, which really looks like a free country

The legendary German photographer Heinrich Heidersberger worked on the cruise ship MS Atlantic in 1954. He took thousands of shots, capturing Americans on the way from New York to Havana — on a path that has been closed to US citizens for more than 50 years. 

A friend from Italy persuaded Heidersberger to sail on a boat so that he could learn the relatively new art of color photography. These frames disappeared for many decades, and they were discovered only in 2001. Heidersberger himself was surprised at how well the slides were preserved. 

Before Fidel Castro came to power and the 1959 revolution, the Caribbean island was a favorite place for recreation and entertainment for wealthy Americans. But after the trade embargo and President Kennedy's travel at the peak of the Cold War in the early 60s, Cuba became an illegal place for Americans.