Acting
1964, in the Escambray mountains: the area is infested with counter- revolutionary bands which are trying to spread terror among the population and re-establish contact with the US, CIA. The murder of a man led to a reprisal to wipe out the bandits.
Tulipa, an old strip-teaser from a traveling circus, is replaced by a younger, more wild woman. She must teach the job to her successor or cling to an act that she values as true art.
It is the story of a young man named Esteban, who was totally devoted to the cause of the Revolution against Fulgencio Batista. One day, Esteban is diagnosed with a cerebral aneurism, which causes him to take stock of his life as a revolutionary and to reconsider his relationships to his family--to his mother and brother, particularly--and his friends.
During the 'Special Period', the members of a funeral procession cross paths with truckdrivers who have to take the same route, and begin to talk about God and the world. They discover that life for both groups has many similarities, as well as a lot of differences.
Two Basque brothers and businessmen try to save their family heritage from imminent ruin. They believe they have found the solution in a quick deal: they will exchange the stock of elvers from their small local business for Cuban cigars bought in Cuba. But the charm of Cuban women and the greed of the self-styled businessmen threaten to disrupt everything.
Engineer Mario Camargo, originally from Argentina, arrives in Cuba to work on the construction of a new industrial complex. He came from France, where he had lived most of his life. Mario had never thought about what homeland meant to him. He had always lived wherever he felt comfortable. In Cuba, Mario meets architect Marta Alea, a passionate patriot who devotes all her energy and abilities to building a new life. Seeing the enthusiasm of Marta and her friends, their devotion to the ideas of the revolution, Mario realizes that in our days, when the face of the world is changing, one cannot be a man without a homeland.
This Cuban feature examines the circumstances arising out of a woman's claim to have seen the Virgin Mary and to have been healed by waters from a nearby stream. In an accelerating storm of cynical opportunism, her sincere beliefs are exploited by businessmen, politicians and military men. Rival groups compete to exploit the hysteria the vision causes, and the chaos culminates in a revolution. Striking imagery and skillful camerawork enhance this feature.
