“There must be some kind of way out of here,’ said the joker to the thief..” Bob Dylan
Music is called the universal language. Songs are successful in communicating ideas and feelings to everyone who hears them. I listen to different songs depending on my moods. A song resonates with me when I hear it and I think, how did they know that is how I was feeling?
These songs always took me somewhere else. Sometimes it was the poetry in the lyrics or music that made me want to travel. Other times it was the foreign language and melody. I picked a few to play. They are in order of my memory of the titles. i have them all on iTunes. Enjoy them.
“Adventures don’t come calling like unexpected cousins calling from out of town. You have to go looking for them.” — unknown
After a beautiful morning on the beach in Varadero, we drive to Havana. It is two hours away. We see a lot of cars from the fifties, older Russian models, motorbikes and beat up buses filled with people. Now we are in a business hotel complete with towels, private rooms and toilet paper. I put the toilet paper in my purse and ask for more. I know we will need it later. One doesn’t come to Cuba for the food (not when Cuba is paying) or the toilets. (one of my favorite songs – Chan Chan from Buena Vista Social Club -if you don’t watch the video listen to the music while you read)
The concert tonight turns out to be at a small theatre in a very poor neighborhood. There is no place to change and the kids change on the bus. We can see into the sparse apartments around us and smell the garbage.. We are surrounded by hordes of kids and give them almost all the candy , pencils and gum we have brought. They are an amazing audience. What they lack in material possessions, they make up in the love and enthusiasm they have for dance.
At the market in the Plaza Del Armas the next day, I found out that the Kennedy Kids were the hottest ticket in the festival and it had been sold out way in advance. They were the first American children in twenty years to be in this important dance festival. They represented hope. We were inexplicably famous. They were on the TV and radio news every day. There was a lot of translating to do so even with my bad Spanish, I am interpreting for the press. It was a reality check to see how few people spoke English. The Cubans loved seeing the American kids walking around and people asked for their autographs.
One of the many odd things that happened was how surprised the Cubans were to see “ninos blancos y negros” (Direct translation black and white children) playing together at the hotels. Apparently performing was one thing. Their information about the United States,( like their cars) was from the fifties. They didn’t know that things had changed. They were always asking me if they were allowed to be friends.
The Plaza del Armas (literally weapons plaza) is in Old Havana. It is a main square surrounded by crumbling buildings. Horse and carriages (in need of repairs) wait to take you around the old city. El Floridita (made famous by Hemingway) is there. In the cathedral square is a market selling crafts, books and paintings. I am there every day.
We spend a few days in Havana. Fidel gets his money’s worth. If the kids are not performing, they are watching other children perform. In the daytime, they performed at hospitals, orphanages, schools and the Young Pioneer Headquarters.
The mission of the Pioneers in every Communist country is to indoctrinate the young in Communist ideology. At first it felt creepy being at those headquarters seeing only what we were supposed to see. After a day with young pioneer children and teachers, they made us honorary pioneers by tying the scarves around our necks. We were happy to join our new friends. Our group picture is probably among their photos. ( It was the year before Elian Gonzales. We saw the photos of all the Young Pioneers on the news with our neckscarves waving their fists and wondered if we knew them) (the American Pioneers)
We go to see Giselle performed by Alessandro Ferry of ABT and the Cuban Ballet Company at the National Theatre of Cuba . It is a huge modern building, decorated with works by Cuban artists. The kids are exhausted and are all asleep when the lights go on at intermission.
It was a beautiful ballet performance – again everyone is talking about it at the Plaza de Armas the next day. It is amazing to be in a country that loves ballet. Many of the wood carvings in the market are dancers. The others are cars and cigar related things.
The American Ambassador (yes there is one) finds out that American children are in Cuba and prepares a dinner party. There is a lot of security. They take our purses and cameras in the afternoon. He rounds up the Americans in Cuba. The Alvin Ailey Company, some documentary filmmakers, any Americans working in Havana ( there are some) , Alicia Alonso and some of the Cuban Ballet Dancers. The ambassador turns out to be from Pasadena, California. We are also traveling with Fayard Nicholas ( of the famous tapping Nicholas brothers) He is there telling stories of dancing in Cuba in fifties. It is a wonderful night with good food. (Alicia Alonso -Director of the Cuban Ballet Company and Arlene Kennedy, Fayard Nicholas and Alvin Ailey Dancers, Kennedy Dancers)
The girls take a ballet class at the Cuban Ballet School (an old Havana mansion) with members of the Cuban ballet. The school, run by Alicia Alonso has turned out some of the best ballet dancers in the world. They combine Cuban sensuality with classical training. The many dancers who defect to the west is a very painful thing for them. The company stars who were there when we were, now dance in the US. The school dates back to the Ballet School of the Sociedad Pro-Arte Musical de La Habana, founded in 1931, where Prima Bailerina Allicia Alonso received her earliest ballet classes. In 1962, the National School of Ballet was created as part of the National School of Art . Like all the Cuban educational systems, the ballet training in this country is free.
We saw other ballet performances at the Gran Teatro de Habana. Someone performs a dance to the Internationale – the communist anthem. The solidarity clap begins. The audience stands and many people have tears in their eyes. (The Internationale)
This prominent theater is located on the site of the former Teatro Tacón in the Paseo de Martí (Prado), in a neo baroque building known as the Palacio del Centro Gallego. It is beautiful and crumbling.(as is much of Cuba). The García Lorca auditorium provides a magnificent stage for the Cuban National Ballet Company, as well as other dance and musical performances.
The Kennedy Tap Kids and the Alvin Ailey company perform the next night at a modern theatre in Havana – the Mella Theatre. It is named after revolutionary hero and dissident Julio Antonio Mella, assassinated in Mexico in 1929 under orders of then Cuban dictator Gerardo Machado. This is a modern building with a conventional stage and seating for 1475 attendees. It hosts a variety of shows, from cabaret to recitals as well as theatre performances.
By then we are pros. We sit in the first row and start the standing ovation and the solidarity clap. American dance moms know how to get a crowd going. !!!!
“In feature films the director is God; in documentary films God is the director. “ Alfred Hitchcock
Favorite Documentary Films in A Foreign Country
As I get older, photography and documentary films fascinate me. It is capturing that moment in time that will never be the same. Documentary films are like reality TV but with good editing and less manufactured drama. Watching a movie that takes place in a foreign country is a way of traveling for me. I can see things that I would not see as a tourist. It is learning the mentality, resilience and heart of the people. I am always amazed at how much I have in common with someone in a village in Africa, or a woman in a burka . At our core, human beings are not very different. Apparently we need to be reminded of this all the time. They are in no particular order and you can probably get them on netflix or watch them on HBO.
Burma VJ (Myanmar)
Director: Anders Ostergaard
Stars: George W. Bush, Ko Muang, Aung San Suu Kyi
Using smuggled footage, this documentary tells the story of the 2007 protests in Burma by thousands of monks. Burma’s videojournalists risking torture and life in jail make undercover videos and news reports with small hand video cameras. They smuggle the tapes out of the country to the international media. I saw this film after I planned to go to Burma (Myanmar) and instead of frightening me, it made me feel that there were so many brave people in this country. How many people would be filmmakers if it meant risking their life every day?
A Small Act (Kenya)
Director: Jennifer Arnold
Writers: Jennifer Arnold, Thomas Schlesinger
A young Kenyan’s life changes drastically when his education is sponsored by a Swedish stranger. Years later, he founds his own scholarship program to replicate the kindness he once received. It is a true story of the ripple effect of a single act of kindness. You always get back more than what you give. It is my favorite documentary film. I gave it as Christmas gifts one year.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi (Japan)
Director: David Gelb
Stars: Jiro Ono and Yoshikazu Ono
A documentary on 85-year-old sushi master Jiro Ono, his business in the basement of a Tokyo office building, and his relationship with his son and eventual heir, Yoshikazu. It is also a good insight into the Japanese mentality about family and obligation.
Stars: Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer and Ruben Gonzalez
Aging Cuban musicians who had performed at a music club in Cuba in the 1940’s and fifties, were brought together to play with guitarist Ry Cooder on an album entitled Buena Vista Social Club. (the club’s name) Wim Wenders documented the performances and lives of these musicians. It was a resurgence of their careers and the golden age of Cuban Music. They only enjoyed it for a short time because they died soon after.
Born Into Brothels (India)
Director: Zana Briski, Ross Kauffman
Stars: Kochi, Avijit Hlader and Shanti Das
Born into Brothels follows the lives of seven children. Their mothers are prostitutes in the red light district of Calcutta. The children are given cameras and taught to see the world. It won the Academy Award for best documentary film in 2005. It is another example of how teaching the arts to underprivileged children can only help. I love this movie.
The Desert of Forbidden Art (Uzbekistan)
Writer -Directors: Tchavdar Georgiev, Amanda Pope
Risking being denounced as an ‘enemy of the people,’ Igor Savitsky rescues 40,000 forbidden fellow artists’ works and creates in a far desert of Soviet Uzbekistan a museum now worth millions.
Pray the Devil Back To Hell (Liberia)
Director: Gini Reticker
Stars: Janet Johnson Bryant, Etweda Cooper and Valba Flomo
This film tells the remarkable story of the courageous Liberian women who came together to end a bloody civil war . Thousands of women — ordinary mothers, grandmothers, aunts and daughters, both Christian and Muslim — came together to pray for peace and then staged a silent protest outside of the Presidential Palace. Armed only with white T-shirts and the courage of their convictions, they demanded a resolution to the country’s civil war. Their actions were a critical element in bringing about an agreement during the stalled peace talks. Pray the Devil Back to Hell honors the strength and perseverance of the women of Liberia
Wasteland (Brazil)
Director : Lucy Walker
Stars: Vic Muniz, Zumbi, Taio, Sulo, Isis
Wasteland is filmed in the world’s largest garbage dump Jardin Gramacho outside of Rio de Janeiro Brazil. It is here that artist Vic Muniz and the garbage pickers ‘catadores’ create art. The project evolves into photographic portraits of the garbage pickers out of the garbage. It is a beautiful transformation story of art and the human spirit.
An African Election (Ghana)
Director: Jarreth J. Merz, Kevin Merz
Writers: Erika Tasini, Shari Yantra Marcacci
This political film follows the elections in Ghana in 2008. Anyone who takes their vote for granted should see this third world democracy struggle to have a fair election.
Koran by Heart (Egypt)
Director: Greg Barker
Koran By Heart follows two boys from Senegal and Tajikistan, and a little girl from Maldives – who go head-to-head with kids nearly twice their age in the pronunciation, recitation and memorization of the Koran during Ramadan. It the oldest Koran competition and takes place in Cairo. They are caught between fundamentalist and modern Islam. It shows our similarities more than our differences.
Cave of Forgotten Dreams (France)
Director: Werner Herzhog
Writer: Werner Herzhog
Stars: Werner Herzhog, Jean Clottes and Julien Monney
The film ( shot in 3D) follows an expedition into the Chauvet Cave in France, home to the most ancient cave drawings known to have been created by man. This pristine artwork dating back to human hands over 30,000 years ago is almost twice as old as any previous discovery.
Beneath the Veil (Afghanistan)
Director: Cassian Harrison
Stars: Saira Shah
This is a documentary film made in 2001 about the conditions of women living in Afghanistan under the Taliban. It is brutal and barbaric and worst of all true.
Al Wei Wei Never Sorry (China)
Director: Alison Klayman
Al Wei Wei is China’s most famous artist. The film chronicles Weiwei’s struggle for human rights within his country and his use of art and social media to rally global audiences to his cause. I am a big fan of him and his work. When he was in jail, I signed the petition to free him. Apparently because of the internet, it went on my permanent record. It was interesting for me to see this in depth film.
Travel Well, Fly Safe 
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