Taxibol

How long have you been driving this taxi for?

How long?

It's been...

It's been 15 years since I started doing this job.

Wow, that's a long time.

This job gave me the opportunity to learn about

the culture of different countries, since I drive passengers

from all over the world.

It's a bit like...

It's as if I traveled the world myself.

Because...

They tell me about life in their countries.

And in general,

about culture, traditions, and anything else that has to do with their countries.

So this is an interesting job

because you always learn something

and interact with people.

Plus, they're usually educated people.

For this reason, this job is...

an enriching type of job.

- And what brings you here in Cuba? - You don't know?

To make cinema.

Cinema is very important now.

The 21st century...

is about engagement, Gustavo.

We need to push everything towards perfecting humanity.

Helping humanity to get better.

Humanity is now in an abyss of...

you know, maladies, turmoils.

There are flashpoints everywhere, wars, terrorism

so many despots and dictators, and populist leaders are now...

heading a lot of countries, and it's terrible for humanity.

So, we should move, in our own small ways to fight these things.

And cinema is part of that,

of this cultural movement to fight all these problems of the world right now.

It's more at the forefront of these cultural movements.

Not art for art's sake, fuck art for art's sake.

It's amazing how...

despite the language barrier...

because you've been with me...

we moved around this town and the University and we've been going to Havana.

We've learned to understand each other despite the language barrier.

I cannot speak Spanish. I have an understanding, little, of the language.

But, I can understand you well, it's more how you...

your demeanor, when you speak, the tone and I know, I can understand.

Yeah, I'm familiar with you and you are familiar with me...

That's the reason why we understand each other.

So sometimes familiarity destroys these borders about language.

The Tower of Babel is destroyed by familiarity and relationships.

Like the two of us, we've been together,

But you know... there's a lot of...

so called fractures in the way we see life

and in our relationships with other people.

Often times you think...

you're deeply in love with a person

Then you wake up one day and she's gone.

Yes.

That happened to me as well.

For example in my case,

I was recently in a relationship with a woman, and it was going well,

but she...

she had to leave because her son and grandson lived abroad.

And so...

our relationship was over.

And you get hurt, emotionally.

Because you start

getting attached to a person, and all of a sudden...

everything falls apart.

This is what's happening to many Cuban families and couples

that break up for this reason.

Although things go well, the relationship goes well...

the couple is forced to break up because one of them

has to...

leave the country for multiple reasons.

That happened to me as well.

I will tell you the story.

I was able to bring my family in America.

After working with a Filipino newspaper, I'm a journalist, then.

A Filipino newspaper in New York, they invited me to stay

so I was able to get my family.

But, once I was able to get my family to New York, I started doing cinema again.

I kept going back to the Philippines to make cinema.

And one day, when I went back to New York...

We were having breakfast, me and my wife.

And after serving me good, good...

coffee, a donut and an egg,

she pulled an envelope and put it in front of me.

And, she gave me a ball pen,

and she said: "Sign this."

I thought it was just another contract, or some bills or what...

When I read it, it is divorce papers.

She said: "Sign it. You love your cinema so much, then go do cinema."

We have divorced.

It was that simple.

The separation was simple.

No bloody fights, no shouting or screaming.

You know, we were just having good coffee in the morning.

Very fresh, in a way.

What's the name of your lost love?

Your ex-girlfriend, what's her name?

Elvis, like...

like Elvis Presley.

Elvis is her name?

Wow... Elvis.

What a name for a woman, Elvis.

You were together for how long?

How long were you together?

- Two years. - Two years?

And she left? She left already?

Where did she go? To the US?

Lehigh.

Lehigh, Florida

Ah, Florida, wow

Do you still communicate? Writing?

- No more, by cellphone? - No, nothing