February 23, 2005
Relajo con Orden (Updated)
I've written before about the ability Cubans have to laugh not only at themselves but at dire circumstances and life in general. It's just a part of the Cuban spirit. If Cubans weren't able to make light of life's hardships then their lives would truly be bleak. You have to laugh, else there's no other way to get through it.
Today's Miami herald has a great article on just that. The Cuban people's ability to make fun of their own circumstances and shortcomings.
There's a short film making the rounds on the island clandestinely that makes fun of Cuban State Security agents. Not many people have seen it, it's on DVD format and of course there is no plethora of DVD players or DVD able computers in Cuba.
Here's a quick transcript of a piece of the film via the Herald article:
The video, first reported by the BBC, opens with a visit by two state security agents to the Havana home of a character named Nicanor O'Donell.''Good morning. My name is Rodríguez, this here is comrade Segura, and we are here to install some microphones,'' one of the agents says. Segura is a Spanish version of ``secure.''
A stumped O'Donell struggles to make sense of this unusual admission to eavesdropping, a state security tactic that Cubans rarely talk about openly.
THE INSTALLERS
''Our mission is to install these microphones in your house so we can clearly hear your antigovernment comments,'' one of the agents says.
When O'Donell tells his visitors, ''You don't even bother to hide it anymore,'' one agent snaps back, ``I don't get these clients. Before, they would complain that we don't show our faces!''
Caving in to threatening looks, O'Donell finally lets the agents into his home, offers them a shot of Cuban coffee and helps them find the best locations for installing the listening devices.
''Where do you speak bad of the government, in what part of the house?'' one of the agents asks.
''Anywhere,'' O'Donell responds. ``Here. In the bedroom. In the kitchen.''
I can't wait to see it and am in the process of trying to get a copy of it to post here at Babalu, but, just like everything Cuban, no es facil.
Mas: Here's a couple of pics from the video, sent to me by a reader with some determination and connections. The first pic appears to be a few Cubans actually watching the video on what looks like a computer monitor. The rest are supposedly from the scene where the G2 arrive at O'Donell's house.
I'm told the title of the film, Monte Rouge, is a new brand of coffee available in Cuba, that O'Donell, the unsuspecting homeowner of the film, is preparing when the G2 Agents arrive at his door.
The original BBC piece can be found here (in Spanish).
Update: If you've arrived here looking for the Monte Rouge video, bookmark this page, the video will be available within the next few days.
Posted by Val Prieto at February 23, 2005 08:23 AM
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Comments
''Say something subversive,'' one of the agents says. O'Donell shouts into the listening device: ``I'd love to have a parabolic antenna!''
that line is classic!!
Posted by: tony at February 23, 2005 11:32 AM
Are these actors expatriates or locals in Cuba?
Posted by: j.scott barnard at February 23, 2005 02:02 PM
they put the whole video on A Mano Limpia tonight, And it is Funny.
Posted by: madtom at February 23, 2005 08:15 PM
When they cut back to Oscar he quoted Tony there verbatim
Posted by: madtom at February 23, 2005 08:39 PM
I think that if the authors of the video end up in prison then it is legit. If nothing happens to them, it is then another story; but nevertheless evenif the government is behind it to give the impression that criticism is allowed, it seems to me they must be really grasping for air.
Posted by: herbert at February 27, 2005 06:36 PM
The video is available here supposedly, but the server goes offline after you download 10Mb or so, It only downloads at a rate of 14Kbps even though I have broadband.
Very frustrating.
Posted by: hnorkus at February 28, 2005 09:39 AM
