In the winter of 2012 my husband Charlie and I were able to travel to Cuba as part of a People-to-People tour. The tour enabled us to visit new businesses my Cuban entrepreneurs. But Charlie and I also had our own agenda: we wanted to learn as much as we could about Carlos Aponte, the Venezuelan revolutionary who happens to be Charlie's great-uncle and who died and is buried in Cuba.
That trip resulted in two blogs. In the Ceiba Trees of Cuba I reflected on the Morillo Fortress where Aponte is buried. I wrote another blog about an incident involving Carlos Aponte at the Hotel Sevilla in Havana.
It seemed appropriate to revisit those essays now as Charlie and I are headed back to Cuba. This time we aren't on a tour. My documentary film, Bare Hands and Wooden Limbs, will screen in the Santiago de Cuba documentary film fest. We will attend the festival and then travel across Cuba to learn more about the country in general and about Carlos Aponte in particular.
Over 160 films from more than thirty-five countries will be in competition at the INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL “SANTIAGO ÁLVAREZ IN MEMORIAM” which takes place in Santiago de de Cuba from March 7th to March 15th. On March 9th my documentary about a village of Cambodian Landmine Survivors, Bare Hands and Wooden Limbs, will screen at the CENTRO CULTURAL CINEMATOGRÁFICO CUBA at 8:30 pm along with a film entitles Viaje al país que ya no existe, directed by Isabel Santos, from Cuba.
Films from Venezuela are highlighted in this festival. There will also be films from Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Spain, Qatar and France. In addition to Bare Hands, the U.S. is represented by a film from Puerto Rico.
You can see the film itself here.