Cuba feliz (2000)

Director:

Karim Dridi

Writers:

Karim Dridi
Pascal Letellier

Release Date:

7 June 2000 (Belgium)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Plot:

Seventy-six-year-old Cuban street musician Miguel Del Morales, known as El Gallo (The Rooster), travels around Cuba with his guitar...

Plot Keywords:

Cuban | Street Musician | Cuba | Musician | Guitar

Cast

Miguel Del Morales	...	Himself
Pepín Vaillant	...	Himself
Mirta Gonzáles	...	Herself
Aníbal Ávila	...	Himself
Alberto Pablo	...	Himself
Armandito Machado	...	Himself
Mario Sanchez Martinez	...	Himself
Zaida Reyte	...	Herself
Gilberto Mendez	...	Himself
Alejandro Almenares	...	Himself
Paisan Mallet	...	Himself
Eulises Sanchez	...	Himself
Carlo Boromeo Planchez	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cándido Fabré	...	Himself

Directed by
Karim Dridi

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Karim Dridi
Pascal Letellier

Produced by
Jacques Debs	....	producer
Alain Rozanès	....	producer
Pascal Verroust	....	producer

Cinematography by
Karim Dridi

Film Editing by
Lise Beaulieu
Marie Liotard

Sound Department
Michel Brethez	....	sound
Dominique Hennequin	....	sound mixer
Jean-Alexandre Villemer	....	sound recordist
Béatrice Wick	....	sound editor

Editorial Department
Bruno Patin	....	color timer

Production Companies

• ADR Productions
• Canal+
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)
• El Movimento Nacional de Video de Cuba

Distributors

• Vhero Films S.A. (Spain)
• Vértigo Films (Spain)
• Pyramide Distribution (France)
• Tantra DMPC Ltd.
• Primer Plano Film Group (Argentina)
• Amuse Pictures
• Empire Pictures Inc. (2002) (USA) (subtitled)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (Argentina) (video)
• TiMe Filmverleih (2000) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Astro Distribution (2007) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

93 min | USA:96 min

Country:

France | Cuba

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Spain:T | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud)

Filming Locations:

Cuba

Company:

ADR Productions

El Gallo

Miguel Del Morales is a happy musician that is seen traveling from Havana to the eastern end of the island, as he pays a visit to the place where some of the best music of Cuba originates. In the process, he takes us along to meet his friends and people that have a lot in common with him as they all speak the same language: music!

Karim Dridi, a French director, welcomes us aboard to follow Miguel, better known as El Gallo, as he arrives in Santiago, a traditional place where some of Cuba's best musicians were born. Miguel, a man in his seventies, seems to be much younger than his years because he has the right attitude toward life; Miguel lives to make music and is right at home jamming with strangers.

We are shown different people Miguel meets along the way. There's always laughter and the beautiful music everyone seems to have a passion for. Thus, we are taken to hear Mirta Gonzalez, a woman of a certain age, but who shows more energy and joy than many others half her age. There is also Pepin Vaillant, a man who plays his horn and gets a lot of beautiful sounds out of it. There is Parsan Mallet, another old timer who plays the traditional son. Even the new generation, like the rapper Eulises Sanchez, has some nice harmonies for us to hear. Zayda Reyte, has an impromptu session as she answers her door to find musicians that are there to serenade her and she joins the traditional song one hears.

The film doesn't make any political statements. "Cuba Feliz" is indeed a loving look at a place where most of its people rely on music to get them through their day; they are poor, yet most of the people one sees in the film are truly rich in tradition. The music seems to be their subsistence and what nourishes their souls.