VENTURA : Students Will Exhibit Photos From Cuba Trip

A group of Ventura College photography students who recently returned from a trip to Cuba brought back images of the island’s vibrant people that will soon become the focus of an upcoming show at the college gallery.

Ten students and Ventura photographers visited the Communist-ruled island in June with a contingent of architectural history students from Virginia Tech.

The Ventura College group, led by instructor Bill Hendricks, was only supposed to help the Virginia Tech students document the island’s historic buildings.

But they came away with an idea for a project of their own: the Cubans themselves.

“The people were incredible,” said M. Hughes Cary, one of the photography students who made the trip. “They are well-educated but have no place to use their education. Their economy is grinding to a halt, and their transportation is very primitive. But they cope with this with a lot of humor.”

The show, titled “Cuba: Politics Aside,” will open in Ventura College on Sept. 6 and showcase the work of the amateur photographers throughout the month.

Most of the photos were shot in Havana, where the group spent most of their time, but some depict scenes from the rural Cienfuegos Province.

“It was a walking picture book,” Ventura photographer Jennifer Selby said of the island. “Every different place had great things to shoot.”

Cary said the conditions under which Cubans live--chronic shortages of food and clothing, and a lack of common amenities like toilet seats--was difficult to witness.

“This woman I met, she had three (bread) rolls in her right hand,” he said. “And that was her ration for the day.”

But the hope and optimism exhibited by the people made the most lasting impression on the visitors, who were allowed on the island with special research visas.

“They seemed to have very little,” Selby said, “but they treated us like they had a lot.”

A special reception for the exhibit will take place Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. For information, call Bill Hendricks at 654-6476