Counterrevolutionary Cuban Films

By Rafael Ocasio -- Críticas, 10/15/2007

Cuba’s counterrevolutionary films are a departure from the official rhetoric of the revolutionary Cuban government. Some offer a historical overview of the crimes committed by prerevolutionary guerrilla groups, located in the Escambray Mountains of the Sierra Maestra, the geographical center of the Castro-led revolution; others document the revolutionary army’s early trials without jury, known as juicios populares (public trials).

Recent documentaries revisit key historical events that have shaped the island’s current political and economic situation, including the 1980 Mariel boatlift, which brought some 125,000 Cubans to the United States, and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989. Another political theme is “el Habanazo,” a movement of civil discontent in Havana in 1994 that provoked a rise in the number of balseros (“rafters”) that year. Finally, the documentaries also explore a recent and especially controversial development on the island: the return of young prostitutes, known as jineteras, who cater to an increasingly large number of European male tourists.

Read about Cuba’s revolutionary cinema.

Un día en La Habana.
(Great Day in Havana)
(USA, 2001) color. English & Spanish (English subtitles).73 mins. Cinemateca, dist. by Facets Video. 2003. DVD. $19.95. DOCUMENTARY
During their annual trips to Havana, which started in 1991, Americans Laurie Ann Schag and Casey Stoll—neither considered a counterrevolutionary filmmaker—interviewed more than 121Cuban artists, from popular artisans who make ends meet by selling crafts with revolutionary themes to up-and-coming plastic artists who describe the effects of economic restrictions on their art. The interviews shed light on their struggle to remain artistically productive despite dire economic conditions in Cuba after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989. Also explored is the impact of tourism, which brings both positive and negative influences to a fairly closed nation. Two interviews stand out: one with Carlos Varela, a Nueva Trova singer, and one with the actor Jorge Perugorria. The “Habanazo” of 1994 is also discussed, not as a political movement but from the perspective of young artists who had to fill the void left by more experienced artists who fled Cuba that year. A call for change in the political system is often insinuated, but there are no direct attacks against the revolutionary directive. Fans of the Afro-Cuban orchestra Síntesis will enjoy the interview with band members, who speak about the importance of their updating musical rhythms of Santería. Recommended for public and academic libraries.

Guaguasi.
(USA/Dominican Republic, 1979) color. Spanish (English subtitles). 107 mins. Cinemateca, dist. by Facets Video. 2005. DVD. $29.95. DRAMA
Cuban American Jorge Ulla wrote and directed this film about the early days of the Castro-led guerrilla movement. In the mountains, revolutionaries become closely acquainted with the peasants, among them Albertico, who is recruited as a reluctant spy. An ignorant peasant, Albertico has never been to the glitzy city of Havana and daydreams that after the triumph of the revolution he will finally see a guagua (“bus”). Soon Guaguasi, as his new friends nickname him, advances in rank. He accuses a neighbor of being a spy for the Batista police and is then forced to execute him. After Castro comes to power, Guaguasi finally finds himself in the Havana of his dreams and gets romantically involved with a cabaret dancer (once the lover of high-ranking officers in Batista’s regime), even as he continues as executioner of the revolutionary popular trials. This is the most effective part of the film, as it illustrates the disillusionment of high-ranked revolutionary officers, many of whom were accused of counterrevolutionary activities and eventually exiled, imprisoned, or executed. A tragic ending returns Guaguasi to the countryside, where he finds work as a driver for technical advisers from the Soviet Union. The film effectively depicts the revolution, its opposition to the liberal sexual life in Havana, and accusations of the revolution’s political crimes. Recommended for large film collections.

Azúcar amarga.
(Bitter Sugar)
(Cuba/Dominican Republic, 1996) b&w. Spanish (English subtitles).102 mins. New Yorker Video. 2001. DVD. $19.95. DRAMA
Cuban American director León Ichaso, who cowrote the script with Cuban actor Orestes Matacena, offers a gloomy portrait of life in Havana in the mid-Nineties. Gustavo Váldez receives a fellowship to study at the University of Prague, but his stable life comes to a halt when he meets Yolanda, a young dancer who daydreams of emigrating to Miami to escape poverty. Gustavo’s bother, Bobby, an aspiring rock musician, must deal with frequent police raids during his band’s illegal street concerts and is eventually arrested and beaten by the police. Subsequently, Bobby injects himself with AIDS-contaminated blood as an act of political dissent. Gustavo begins to doubt the revolutionary ideology he had firmly believed would carry the island out of the so-called Special Period and is completely disillusioned when Yolanda decides to leave during the Habanazo riots. This film offers an accurate portrayal of the revolutionary government’s inability to incorporate the youngest generation into modern society, as evident in most of Latin America. The most vibrant portrait is that of the controversial jineteras, whose ranks are joined by the desperate Yolanda. Recommended for public libraries with large collections on Latin American films.

90 Miles
(USA, 2001) color. Spanish (English subtitles). 53 mins. Frameline. 2003. DVD & VHS. $80. DOCUMENTARY
This is the heart-wrenching personal account of U.S.-based Cuban filmmaker Juan Carlos Zaldívar’s role in his family’s decision to leave Cuba during the Mariel boatlift of 1980. A 13-year old scholarship student at a boarding school for the gifted, Zaldívar was an example of the best revolutionary ideology at work. He had to make a decision that would change his family’s future, a plan for the whole family to leave Cuba. In this documentary, Zaldívar assesses his relationship with family members, particularly with his father, who regretted his decision to leave Cuba because he believes he has failed as the family provider in the United States. At the center of Zaldívar’s intimate conversations with his father are the filmmaker’s sexuality (Zaldívar is openly gay) and the father’s opposition to Zaldívar’s returning to Cuba to visit friends and family left behind. Zaldívar’s account of his return is the most intense, personal aspect of the film. This documentary is important because it reverses the Cuban migratory experience; here we see family struggles as political ideology continues to divide them. Unique are Zaldívar’s statements as an out-of-the-closet son, an aspect of family life not usually discussed within Latino families. This documentary is highly recommended for public libraries serving Cuban populations and viewers interested in current issues about life of Cuban in the United States.