FeedsForbidden island
Cuba continues to fascinate local businessman, photographer
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Cubans talk under the painting of a mural. Many talented artists live on the island.When most people think about Cuba, they probably come up with the wrong impression. Jack Kenny, owner of Quicksilver Photo Studio and Gallery in Plymouth, said he did. Prior to his first trip to the country more than 10 years ago, he said he was influenced by reports from government officials and the media.
“Before I visited Cuba, I expected to see a little island with a black cloud of oppression over it,” he said. Kenny said Cubans may be poor and the country “isn’t the utopia that Fidel Castro would have you to believe,” but they are a proud people filled with brilliant artists, educators and medical professionals.
“The people are healthy, highly educated and culturally advanced,” he added.
Kenny has visited the isolated country more than 30 times in the past decade. He stayed interested in political events there—such as Fidel Castro’s absence during the recent parade commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. He’s developed an expertise on the country, too.
Media outlets from the Associated Press to Detroit’s WJR radio have referred to Kenny for his analysis of the people, politics and culture of Cuba. Inspired by his travels and experiences, Kenny published a 120-page hardcover book containing photos and images of the country and the Cuban people.
Kenny published the book in part to show the beauty and majesty of Cuba. He describes the 800-mile long country and the 11 million inhabitants as dynamic and welcoming; an image many Americans may not see. Kenny feels that it is his duty to give access to “the only country in the world that is off limits to Americans.”
Kenny also created an online gallery that holds more than 4,000 photos of Cuba. Kenny is only allowed to legally travel to Cuba because of a special clearance given to working journalists and students.
He has also complied photos and artwork of Cuba and created a traveling art exhibit, Cuba: Revolution Then and Now, that has been featured at the University of Michigan, Marygrove College and the Plymouth Arts Council, among others.
“Jack is an extraordinary portrait artist,” said Tom James, owner of The Tom James Gallery of Fine Arts in Northville, who hosts dozens of Kenny’s photographs in his studio.
James credits Kenny with having the ability to show the contrasts in Cuba and bring them alive through photography.
“The subject of Cuba itself has a general amount of interest,” said James. Whether you love or hate Cuba, the portraits will evoke strong emotion,” James added.
Kenny is a sharp critic of the U.S government policies toward Cuba. He is particularly concerned about the trade and travel restrictions against Cuba that he feels emboldens Castro.
“The trade embargo harms Cuban citizens and does nothing positive except give Casto a scapegoat for a failed economy,” said Kenny, who bought a 1956 Chevy to drive around Cuba because the embargo makes more modern cars impossible for a majority of Cubans to afford.
Kenny also believes the U.S government is responsible for scores of Cubans who have drowned trying to reach U.S soil due to the ‘set foot in America and you’re free policy” which encourages Cubans to head to America despite the U.S Coast Guard having orders to stop Cuban refugees.
In May, Kenny’s ties to Cuba became stronger. He married his longtime girlfriend in Havana and he is waiting for the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S Department of Immigration and Naturalization Services to process her application to America.
Even when his bride arrives in Michigan, don’t expect the couple to leave Cuba behind.
“I could live there easily, said Kenny. “It’s warm.”
For more information about Jack Kenny’s book, visit www.corazonpress.com
