Al Jazeera to air “My Cuba” in August

-          Al Jazeera gives an intimate look at Cuba today from the perspective of six very different Cubans

-          The series is a follow on from the My Nigeria Series

My Cuba is a new series of six programmes from Al Jazeera English starting on August 22nd.  

The series gives an insight into Cuba through the eyes of six very different people living in places as varied as buzzing Havana, the Afro-Cuban neighbourhood of La Marina in Matanzas, or a quiet village in the mountains at the opposite end of the country.  

Each intimate portrait takes the viewer way beyond the headlines and the familiar stories about ‘Cuba opening up’.  We see people’s individual struggles and the challenges they set themselves; see their rewards and successes; hear their frustrations and pleasures - and see the Cuban trait of finding humour in everything.  Some are benefitting from the possibilities of the ‘new Cuba’ but others’ lives have been completely untouched.

Avoiding clichés, this series attempts to get behind the statistics, the views of political commentators and the soundbites on the news to hear what Cuba means to some of its people and show their day to day lives.  

The series features TV comedian Luis Silva (Pánfilo), ballet dancer Laura Rodriguez, community worker and Female Rumba Association founder Regla Gonzalez, rural shoe maker Alexis Martinez Pena, wedding and event planner Ailed Guevara, and Jose Enrique Gomez, whose job is to make sure his neighbourhood have the best fireworks, lighting and float displays at the Las Parrandas carnival, even if it means preparing 150,000 handmade fireworks.

In addition, Al Jazeera online will roll out a series of stories that tap into the lives of unique individuals to provide deeper insights into Cuban culture. The stories will feature the work of locally-based writers and photographers and explore a range of topics, from a day in the life of two Havana vegetable sellers and a profile of a well-known performance artist, to the experiences of a young santero and a duo putting Guantanamo on the map with their contemporary dance company.

Ingrid Falck, Head of AJE documentaries who conceived and commissioned the series said: “My Cuba is part of Al Jazeera’s commitment to give people from the global south a platform to tell their own stories, in their own words, directly to the world.”

Ends

My Cuba screens on Al Jazeera English from 22 August 2016. For more information, visit www.aljazeera.com/mycuba.

LUIS SILVA: BEING PANFILO                                        22nd August

LAURA RODRIGUEZ: TO DANCE                                29th August

JOSE ENRIQUE GOMEZ: EL PRESIDENTE                  5th September

REGLA GONZALEZ MIRO: RUMBA ROOTS              12th September

ALEXIS  MARTINEZ  PENA: THE COUNTRYMAN    19th September

AILED GUEVARA: THE WEDDING PLANNER           26th September

TX times GMT

Monday               2230

Tuesday               0930

Wednesday        0330

Thursday             1630

Friday                    0530

Episode summary and schedule:

Luis Silva: Being Panfilo (2230 GMT, Monday, 22 August) 
37 year-old Luis Silva transforms himself daily into 78-year-old Pánfilo Epifanio, who made international headlines in March 2016 with a sketch with Barack Obama. Luis was recently voted Cuba’s most popular entertainer, while his satirical TV show Vivir del Cuento is a weekly appointment for most Cubans.

Laura Rodriguez: To Dance (2230 GMT, Monday, 29 August)

Laura and her boyfriend, Jesus, are both dancers with Carlos Acosta’s new company, Acosta Danza, in central Havana.  The film follows Laura as she fights to recover from a serious knee injury so that she can dance with Acosta at his last ever performance in Cuba.

Jose Enrique Gomez: El Presidente (2230 GMT, Monday, 5 September)

Jose is El Presidente of the El Carmen neighbourhood in Remedios in central Cuba.  Every 24th December the sleepy town of Remedios turns into a massive party as the two neighbourhoods compete in a carnival called Las Parrandas.  Jose has been coaxed back this year to bring glory to El Carmen after five years of depressing defeats by their fierce rivals San Salvador.

Regla Gonzalez: Rumba Roots (2230 GMT, Monday, 12 September)

Regla Gonzalez is the coordinator at the Nelson Barrera Community Centre in La Marina, Matanzas, a former slave port said to be the birthplace of rumba music and renowned for its Afro-Cuban culture.  Having set up a choir for senior citizens and founded the Female Rumba Association, she now has her sights set on a percussion class for the children of La Marina.

Alexis Martinez Pena: The Countryman (2230 GMT, Monday, 19 September)
Alexis Martinez Pena is a former teacher and father of two who swapped life in the city for a remote village, San Pablo de Yao, famous for its coffee production.   Frustrated with what he felt to be the over-centralisation of the school system in Cuba, Alexis left his job to work as a shoemaker and clown.

Ailed Guevara: Wedding Planner (2230 GMT, Monday, 26 September)

Ailed Guevara is a wedding and event planner who has climbed to a position where she seems to ‘do’ all the big Havana events. We see her preparations for a major wedding in the iconic Hotel Nacional between a second-generation Cuban American and his Cuban bride.