Cosas que dejé en La Habana

Foreign films are so good at combining comedy with drama and creating films that leave us wondering if we should laugh or cry. There are lots of moments in this film that are funny, but overall it's a sobering look at what it feels like to live in exile. The film starts out in Havana so we can understand what the characters are leaving behind. Spain offers more economic opportunities, but none of the Cubans who go there are really happy. They want things they can't have at home - career opportunities, money, a nice house - but they miss the warmth and color of their island. The aunt (Daisy Granados) has tried to become less Cuban and more Spanish, but she's just a bitter and frustrated woman who wants everyone else to be as unhappy as she is. Although she claims she can't stand Cuban food, she sneaks into the kitchen at night and eats it cold out of the pot when no one is looking - what a perfect metaphor for the way she covers up her true identity in order to "fit in" in her new country. Nena (Violeta Rodriguez) and Igor (Jorge Perugorría) have great chemistry and make a great romantic couple. The constant struggle between money vs. love, economic opportunity vs. home is heartbreaking. It makes you realize that most Cubans who leave the island are only leaving because of economic hardships, and that if they had a choice, they're rather not leave.

This movie, a Cuban-Spanish co-production, was written by a Spaniard who admittedly remembers his mother's nostalgia for Havana of the 50's. The first problem lies there in: the Havana of the 50's is not the Havana of the 90's these ladies just left. How can you romanticize or be nostalgic about America's Beirut? Secondly, the refugees from Havana, and their overly capitalistic (in the worst of contexts) aunt are all Cuban state paid and controlled actors. They appear in most if not all examples of this new 90s genre, the Cuban-European co-production, where Cuba supplies the raw materials (actors, technical support, sets, locations) and the Europeans (WHAT ELSE?)the money and distribution. The Cuban government gets its much needed hard currency this way, and shows a gullible world how conscious Cubans are of their plight and what an open society they live in (STRAWBERRY AND CHOCOLATE, one of the first of this genre is akin to the Chinese depicting their compassion on Tianemen Square).

The film stars the omni present Jorge Perugorria (one of Cuba's cash cows),and former Communist propaganda movie star Daisy Granados as the evil, capitalist aunt, as well as the daughter of one of the Cuban regime's signature musicians, the very loyal to the party Silvio Rodriguez. Kind of like an Albanian Kossovar family drama made by Milosevic's handpicked Serb stars. A fantasy, and enjoyable at that if you can understand the irony of it all.

"Cosas que dejé en la Habana'', or "Things I left in Havana" in english is a film from 1997 about three Cuban sisters immigrating to Spain. The sisters have an aunt who immigrated many years before who has a clothing store where two of the sisters work. The youngest sister is an aspiring actress, and helps at the store as well however not as frequently as the other two. The sisters miss Cuba and try to maintain their culture; the polar opposite of their aunt who tries to be as Spanish as possible, and almost completely leaves her past behind. There is another group of immigrants in the movie with a family who hope to go to the United States with false passports, and an old friend who immigrated earlier and tries to help them in Spain. The biggest problem both groups face is a lack of identity, both in legal papers and in their personal identities. Many of the conflicts in the movie concern the look for legal documentation however in subtle ways. Igor, the friend of the family and Nena, the youngest sister meet and want to be together, however Igor is looking to use a spanish woman for a house and money. The family who are friends with Igor are only in Spain to get documentation and leave. Perhaps the largest example of this is when the aunt of the sisters tries to "sell" one of them to a rich family who want to cover up their sons homosexuality. The aunt is looking to get documentation for one of her nieces and money from the family. The other side of identity, the lack of personal identity in Spain is seen by the Cubans trying to maintain their culture in Spain through food, music,and parties. They also mention returning to Cuba however know that they cannot due to the government in Cuba. The Cubans are trying to maintain an identity from their own home instead of finding one in their new country, making it more difficult to fit in and finding more people in their same situation. The aunt's identity is totally shifted to Spanish, and almost no Cuban to a fault, and the film shows two extremes. This suggests some middle ground is likely best in their situation.

The Movie is set in the nineties with the immigrants trying to leave the government of the Castro regime for a better life with more opportunities. This is best seen when the sisters say they would return to Cuba, however returning would mean the Castros win. Many Cubans tried leaving multiple times in the past, with Spain being a common location for them and the most legal for Cubans leaving. Some subtle differences in the film help to show the difference between Cuba and Spain, such as the music and speech. The intro to the movie is the only piece where we see any of the movie set in Cuba, and it is just the names of the intro and music. The music is Cuban and feels a bit older, which is a major cultural aspect in Cuba due to the embargo of the United States and lack of modernity coming into the country in the time of the movie. At a bar in Spain the music is much newer and suits dancing more than the older music from Cuba, which is one major difference between the two. Spain is much more modern, therefore offering more and better opportunities than in Cuba. Another difference is seen in the speech of the characters. The Cubans are loud and swear a lot while the Spanish are much quieter and hardly swear in the movie. The cubans who have been in Spain make a point of telling the new immigrants they have to change their form of spanish in order to fit in in Spain.

The film is a very good representation of Cuban immigrants looking for opportunity in Spain and escaping the control of the Castro's. It is easy to tell which characters are Spanish and which are Cuban, even without actually knowing. This comes from the direction of Miguel Gutiérrez Aragón, who grew up with a Cuabn mother and Spanish father and was able to see the differences. In order to capture in full effect the Cuban immigrant character Aragón had Senel Paz, a Cuban screenwriter, work with him on the movie. The experience of a cuban immigrant to Spain and somebody who had lived in Spain his whole life were critical to the strength of the film in representing the lives and changes for immigrants and what they leave behind. The only thing that could have improved the movie was a seen at the beginning in Cuba to help the viewer to understand the life Cubans had there under the Castros - this would help the viewer to see exactly why the characters are immigrating, what they are leaving behind, and what changed once they arrived in Spain. Despite this, the film is practical in its representations of immigrants and is easy to watch as a leisurely comedy, with the topic of immigration contributing to this; It also includes a love story that plays on the topic of immigrants however is strong in its main point as a love story as well. Overall the film is worth the watch whether to watch for fun or to analyze and see the life of Cuban immigrants in Spain. The film may be difficult to find in the United States for rent, however it can be bought as a DVD or VCR or if you have access to a european itunes account; despite the challenges in finding the movie it is certainly worth the time to watch if you ever find yourself having the chance to do so.

Cubans go away from their country looking for better standard of life, some go to USA and others go to Europe. The reality is that they were, are and will be Cubans for ever, missing always their motherland. This film is an evidence of homesickness by Cubans. It also shows how the naive emigrants are sometime exploited by even experienced compatriots.