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uba is lush and green and its mountainous terrain puts one in the mind of any number of Caribbean islands, and especially Jamaica. Cuba has beautiful hotels and resorts and an enviable coastline with expanses of white sandy beaches and Cuba’s musical, religious and culinary traditions are historic, rich and filling to the mind, body and soul. Tourists from around the world flock to Cuba, all except U.S. citizens.
But soon all that may change.
On Dec. 17, 2014, President Barack Obama signaled his intent to begin the normalization of relations with Cuba, noting, “We are separated by no more than 90 miles of water and yet for more than 50 years an ideological and economic barrier hardened between our two countries.”
On July 1, after months of behind-the-scenes negotiations and much to the chagrin of anti-Castro hardliners in Congress, and the Cuban diaspora – especially in South Florida – Obama announced that the U.S. and Cuba would reopen their respective embassies in each nation.
So when a group of journalists, academics and students, led by USA Today columnist DeWayne Wickham, who is also Dean of Morgan State University’s School of Global Journalism and Communication, visited Cuba June 7-13, we were fortunate to be in the right place at the right moment in history.
And while there is much to applaud about Obama’s push to end 50-plus years of estrangement, if not outright hostility, between the two countries, there remains reason to pause on both sides.
The first black president of the United States is popular in the island nation, but students at the University of Havana’s journalism school told the delegation they are cautious about what’s to come.
Varadero Beach, with its white sand beach and an 18-hole golf course, has become a major tourist attraction in Cuba. (Photos by Jackie Jones)