UC journalism professors discuss U.S. ties to Cuba

WVXU's Cincinnati Edition spoke with two journalism professors at the University of Cincinnati about U.S. ties to Cuba and what changes they have observed over the years during their many visits with students from UC.

UC College of Arts and Sciences Professor Emeritus Jon Hughes and his son, Interim Department Head Sean Hughes, have visited Cuba many times to document its people, society and culture.

Jon Hughes told Cincinnati Edition host Lucy May that world events such as the failed U.S.-sponsored coup plot called the Bay of Pigs and the deployment of Russian interballistic missiles to Cuba in 1962 left an indelible impression on him. He decided he wanted to see the place that shaped so many world events. 

The United States severed diplomatic ties with Cuba between 1961 and 2015 and imposed trade sanctions, which explains why the island nation became associated with classic cars that owners had to maintain for decades by necessity.

“There was a dual economy at the time. The peso were for the people. Dollars were for the people in power,“ Jon Hughes said.

He said American visitors today still face restrictions on where they legally can stay or spend money.

Sean Hughes started going to Cuba in the 1990s and decided to make its society and culture the subject of his master's thesis at UC. This was a time when the Cuban people were suffering from the economic impact of the breakup of the Soviet Union.

He photographed punk rockers known as Los Frikis, a counterculture group of heavy metal rock fans that railed against the Cuban government's censorship and repression. Some members of the group purposely infected themselves with HIV so they could have access to the food and health services of the country's quarantined AIDS wards.

Since his first private visits, Sean Hughes has led several University Honors Program trips to Cuba. And he has returned for several photojournalism projects.

During his visits, Jon Hughes researched the black markets that allow Cubans to get access to otherwise restricted household goods and foods.

“These are vibrant, wonderful people. And they live hard and they play hard and they survive under circumstances we can't imagine,“ he said.

Featured image at top: Street life in Havana in 2013. Photo/Sean Hughes