East of Havana (2006)

Directors:

Emilia Menocal, Jauretsi Saizarbitoria

Writers:

Emilia Menocal, Jauretsi Saizarbitoria

Storyline

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

14 March 2006 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Havana, Cuba

Company Credits

Production Co:

Denver and Delilah Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Lets cut the crap and say what the rappers in Cuba openly can't.

In 1958 Cuba was not only super ahead of the rest of the Caribbean but was the Latin American nation with the largest middle class per-capita. By 1958 Cuba was still absorbing considerable European immigration, mainly from Spain. It also by this time received a lot of former WWII refuges, "los Polacos" as Cubans referred to the Jews since most of them had come from Poland. Also by '58 there were more Americans living in Cuba, than Cubans in the U.S. of A. Hell, Havana even had a China Town.

Throwout the years the left has dedicated itself to repeat the Castro story that Cuba was a miserable pathetic case and his drastic socialist a.k.a. communist measures have been made to solve or make something out of Cuba. This is a farce. Just a look at todays crumbling Havana more than reveals that this was once an affluent first world euro-style metropolis unlike any other in a long radius. Also the then new high raise buildings on the Vedado district and the amount of old American cars from Chevrolets to Cadillacs still around from its capitalistic days more than shows evidence of a past with a solid economy and a strong middle class. Did Cuba have poverty? Of course, but so did the U.S.A. and Europe. Cuba was never a case for world vision and it never had the huge social differences that are many times so choking in other Latin American countries.

Despite Cuba's achieved economical maturity that was the envy of many other Caribbean and Latin American countries, politically it was the same circus as the rest, and for it, it paid the highest praise or them all. During this period the president was a black man called Batista,and although Batista was categorized as a dictator because he stole his second term and ignored the Cuban constitution, he was truly nothing more than the typical corrupt politico seen in all of Latin America. Batista's actions created open discontent and it was not at all that hard to curse him out and take him down, just shows his level of "dictator". This was the platform that Castro used to get to power promising no more corruption, future elections, and respect for the Cuban constitution, lets see, it is now 2007, yeah a very honest man. Not only one hell of a commi tyranny but a monarchy since his brother is appointed in line to continue it.

One of the biggest blames for Cuba's obvious poor and decadent state (where Havana buildings are literally falling on people) is the U.S. embargo, especially by the mouths of communist themselves after the fall of the U.S.S.R. Now I ask, wasn't it Castro the one that expropriated (stole without pay) all businesses in Cuba -national & foreign- and declared ALL private property illegal. And with doing this told Americans and all outsiders to go to hell. He purposely provoked the embargo, destroyed the Cuban infrastructure and economy, purposely isolated the Cuban people, and turned Cuba into a Russian satellite nation. Why? To easily perpetuate a strong tyranny, there is not much science to this. Go ask the other commi wacko in North Korea why he also isolates and slaves his people, is like, duhhh. All the embargo finger pointing has come mainly after the fall of the U.S.S.R and with it the disappearance of the money they gave Castro, the commis now blaming the U.S.A pretending they forgot the real story. Now I also ask, so much poverty, decrepitude, and destruction just since the fall of the U.S.S.R in 1989. COME ON, PLEASE. Cuba has been looking pretty dawn bad from a pretty long time, ever since Castro took power to be exact. Where did all the BILLIONS of $ the U.S.S.R gave Castro over time go to? In military, trying to export his revolution. Remember Grenada, remember Angola, remember the Salvadorian Civil War, remember where the Colombian guerrilla got supplied and trained during the 60s and 70s, Cuba was the name.

The U.S. embargo does not mean anything for the Cuban people as long as they are subjugated as slaves by a communist elite that runs and controls everything by ANY means possible. The entire world visits and does business with Cuba, has this changed the circumstances for freedom, change,the Cuban people and political prisoners, etc, NO, but Castro and his accomplices have bigger bank accounts, that is all. You have to understand the system to understand the reality, it is just slave-masters controlling slaves in Cuba. This are the words of a Cuban, not a lefty arrogant Hollywood liberal who thinks to know more than anyone because he reads propaganda, but then has no brains to analyze it. Most Cuban exiles are for the embargo because they know how the system works and they know that with embargo or no embargo under Castro they are just slaves. Thee embargo is Castro's problem and interest. The destruction of Cuba is due to Fidel, his surrounding scum, and the U.S.S.R as this documentary calmly points out. The Cuban rappers are not allowed to travel or speak freely, and THAT IS FOR A REASON gentlemen. See therealcuba.com for more info.