Cuba and the Cameraman

Dear Cuban people.

With profound pain, I must inform our people...

Fidel Castro Ruz, our Commander-in-Chief, died.

Very few people out.

Few people on the streets.

The street is practically empty.

We're in mourning.

Fidel! The giant!

Eternal Commander!

We're here at Fidel's memorial service.

I am Fidel! I am Fidel!

None of these people have ever been in a Cuba without Fidel.

I've never known a Cuba without Fidel.

What do you think about this moment?

Fidel is the greatest of all time.

Fidel, you'll be in our hearts forever.

Fidel will always be with our people.

When I first came here, cell phones weren't invented

and I was in my early 20s.

I've been coming back for five decades,

making friends with everybody,

trying to tell the story of Cuba.

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It's a home run for Fidel!

-Is this the beginning of the tape? - Yeah.

It's the early '70s.

We're experimenting with the first generation of video cameras

that were rolling around New York City.

We started filming what was wrong with our community.

No contract, no work! No contract, no work!

We interviewed taxi drivers striking for fair pay.

What do you think about this contract?

-Stinks. -It stinks. Why is it bad?

The boss is getting everything, we get nothing.

Don't take my picture. Don't take my goddamn--

I'll bust that over your head!

The bylaws say four minutes.

You owe me that courtesy.

We documented how the school board dealt with the demands of angry parents.

Our early films tried to make things better.

- -Fighting for better housing.

I'll let you see the condition of this building,

why it's unfit for anybody to live in.

Now this is the back.

It's really disgusting if you have to live like this.

-Enough to make you sick, right? -

We were exposing the sweatshops in Chinatown.

It is unfair because we made these pants for 12 cents,

but I saw these uptown, it sells for about $13.

I need another connector on this. You got another EKG?

And we were exposing the dangers of budget cutbacks in our hospitals.

Give me a connector from that one. These connectors are no good.

All right, let's call it.

Just over the horizon, down in Cuba...

there was a Revolution going on.

We heard that Fidel Castro was implementing

the social programs we were fighting for in New York.

Free health care,

universal education

and housing for everyone.

We are fighting

so our workers aren't beholden to American millionaires.

They can't stand that we've made a socialist revolution

right under the nose of the United States.

Fidel! Fidel! Fidel!

The Cuban people were promised by the Revolution

an end to economic exploitation.

They have received a police state.

And I can assure you that Cuba shall one day be free again!

The United States tried to wall off and weaken Cuba

with military action and economic blockades.

By 1972, hundreds of thousands of Cubans had fled the Revolution.

What are conditions like in Cuba?

Very bad. Every day gets worse.

There were so many passionate opinions, pro and con,

that we wanted to see the Revolution for ourselves.

We hitched a ride on this sailboat

and took our cameras down to Cuba.

The first friends that we made were the Borregos.

They lived on a small farm outside Havana.

Cristobal, how old are you?

I'm 64.

Who are these guys?

This is my brother Ángel.

And this is my brother Gregorio.

And your sister Lilo?

Yes.

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We've always been peasants

and have always produced our own food.

Gregorio, why do you do this?

We do this

so the bananas prosper.

Pruning makes them stronger.

- -

Cristobal, what are you doing?

I'm clearing rocks from government land.

Do you get paid for this work?

No. I volunteer.

It's my way to help the Revolution.

It's for the good of the country.

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Gregorio, when work's over, what do you do?

I like to drink and party and sing.

It's only natural.

I have my little bottle with me, and can't live without it!

What's happening?

Got any beer?

No beer.

We'll have to drink rum.

-Real rum! -Drink up!

Hey!

Down the road from the Borregos' farm

is one of the schools built by the Revolution.

Hey, kids!

I can mechanize the process,

but I need to internalize how it works.

- -

What class is this?

Genetics.

- Genetics? - Biology.

- Biology. Uh-huh. -Biology.

It's molecular biology.

You kids understand this?

Yes!

They understand molecular biology? Are you kidding?

What do you want to be?

- - You want to be a doctor.

Good to have a doctor in the family. How about you?

Engineer.

My friend here?

- - You want to be a psychologist.

Did you finish?

- You want me to leave? -No, no.

Okay, kids. Enough fun. Back to biology.

- Bye. - Nice talking to you.

To go with the education, they're building thousands of apartments.

Are you building more than before the Revolution?

Much more.

We are ensuring that all workers have a home.

All Cubans have access to free health care.

How much does this cost?

They don't charge me anything.

-I only have to thank them. - Just thank them.

Fidel's paying for these social programs

with subsidies and support from the Soviet Union,

and betting everything on the success of the sugar harvest.

Why do you cut cane for a living?

Because I never had the opportunity to study.

And your kids?

All of my kids go to school.

All seven of them.

Do you go to school?

Yes. All of us.

What do you want to do when you grow up?

I want to be a veterinarian.

- And you? -A teacher.

And you?

A nurse.

It's 1975, and the Revolution seems to be working.

The state-owned stores are stocked up.

How has this street changed?

Well, this year...

the street turned out great and there are lots of nice things.

What types of things?

A shoe store.

A pizza shop.

And other interesting things.

What's that for?

Mayonnaise for salad.

Cider to toast our first Congress.

It's 16 years since the start of the Revolution.

Fidel convenes the first Communist Party Congress.

Are we rolling?

We scramble to record Fidel's 20-hour speech.

Fidel! Fidel!

Thank you, comrades, for your efforts.

In the name of the Central Committee,

we embrace you.

Our country or death! We will triumph!