"Soy Cuba" was released in 1968 and directed by Mikhail Kalatozov. This move was acted and directed by Russians and Cubans, ridding it of any American affiliation or contamination of historical accounts in Cuba history. It portrayed America and American corporations in the as the true inconsiderate capitalists they are. The first scene was set in a Bar where men, primarily American, came to drink, dance, and meet prostitutes. The next scene was when a large fruit corporation had wrongfully taken the land, labor, and livelihood of a Cuban farmer. The final scene was a glimpse of a revolution to give civilian rights. The film gave a great historical and theatrical account of Cuba and its struggles up till the revolution.
The opening scene gave great light to the beautiful sounds of Cuba but the sad depiction of women. The music, which was so full of life and energy, brought everyone to their feet in the dance club. The men in the club were predominately American men who were making passes at the Cuban women. The women were prostitutes who only knew the English to please their American counterpart. The lack of respect towards women was very common to Cuba for many decades. Catherine Davies wrote, "National Feminism in Cuba: The Elaboration of a Counter-Discourse" and discussed the trials and tribulations of woman trying to gain respect in Cuba. Cuba had derived their constitution American and also the lack of respect of women. Women were seen as objects for men and it was not until women of the upper class began to write about the inequality that the problem was every addressed (Davies 109). Women began to use their art and literature to bring awareness and protest the inequalities. They felt that with modernity should bring more rights to all especially women (119). Women believed that the lack of rights and respect was a form of enslavement, which was unconstitutional in their nation at this time (Davies 121). The writers of this day expressed their opposition of the modernization with inequality and were not willing to call a nation their own until they got equality. Latin America as a whole has been one to be the frontrunner of woman’s rights with having female presidents, which makes Cuba a unique nation.
Prior to the revolution leaders did not see the different races in Cuba as equals. They felt that the African American sector of society had too much involvement in the revolution and people would loose their ethnic identity with unity (Fuentes 44). Early in the 1900s Cuba had given voting rights to all members of society. Afro-Cuban and Mulattos dominated the society but the White Spaniards dominated their sugar plantations. It was a similar scene in the movie when white men on horses came and stole the lands and crops of a worker who had put all his sweat into his plantation. The men came and took the lands based in the racial superiority and sought to exploit Cuba as a whole (Fuentes 52). It was in the 1930s that the black community sought to gain rights and a voice in Cuba Society. The lack of integration was a holding them back from modernization as a Cuban society (Fuentes 57). Although race was not the back bone of the Cuban revolution it did strive to attain liberal rights for all that included the black Cuban population.
During the Cuban revolution and many other Latin American revolutions, they wanted to distance themselves form the imperialist Americans. This anti American atmosphere would be at the core of their nationalist dreams (Chasteen 250). They had experienced all the hardships of the failing global economy with none of the benefits. Marxists ideas were becoming increasingly popular with the grassroots level of the revolutions in Latin America because it did not the support the capitalist ideals of the United States (Chasteen 264). It would allow for equality and the ability to over throw their corrupt leaders who had been tempted by the evils of the American west. During the revolution many Marxists countries opted to “help” Cuban in their revolution but in the end turned still sought economical gain through their plantations, after the revolution Fidel and his government had control of the plantations and were still unable to stabilize their economy and had failed attempts to do so.
The film showed how America had directly controlled and influenced Cuba’s economy and even after Cuba’s revolution they were unable to escape the grip of influence in their economy. Cuba’s Marxists revolutionary goals were a major liability to the United States during the cold war, which fueled them economically sanction all their exports. This was detrimental to Cuba’s economy because the United States is the worlds largest economy. Although this was not direct imperialism, it still hindered the growth and prosperity of Cuba.
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