For Lorenzo Castore, in his dynamic photographs of Cuba and Mexico, colour is everything. He uses it in extraordinary ways, conveying a rich sense of place and atmosphere. The resultant images are revealing and powerful portraits of his subjects - caf©s, bars, streets and the everyday. This is the winning project of the 2005 Leica European Publishers Award, whose previous winners include Simon Norfolk, Bruce Gilden, Dario Mittidieri and Jeff Mermelstein. A worthy and fascinating addition to the list of previous winners, Paradiso is constantly surprising and striking.