Jon Alpert Speaks On His Film, "Cuba and the Cameraman"

[@BUILDSeriesNYC]

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[@davidtorresani2528]

I've fallen in love with Cuba and came to adore the people. Especially the Borregos brothers. If I ever get the chance to visit Cuba I sure will like to show respect to the grave site of the Borregos Family. I am seeing this in 03-01-2020. I am 31yrs.old and hope others see this great Doc. Bravo Jon Alpert & thank you.. Good health to you and family. I hope your daughter still has the excuse note from Fidel Castro.. Super cool!!!! More please...

[@raspberrymist]

That excuse note was badass!!!

[@bvlog4857]

If you ever make it to the borregos grave let me know it is a dream to travel one day to pay my respects for those three amazing souls when I return to Cuba.

[@angelf3365]

This was a good documentary . I grew to love the Borregos . As for Fidel Castro , he charmed the cameraman and seems like a wonderful humanitarian . Seems like it because he is not . My family suffered immensely because of Fidel . I hope he is burning in hell because my family did t deserve what was done to them

[@alaintorres6878]

Gracias mi querido amigo jon por este Tan especial Documental. Todos los Cubanos nos sentimos muy orgullosos por ese gran trabajo que nos has compartido. En tus hojos se reflejan tus buenos sentimientos hacia nuestra gente y en especial Se nota cuanto sentistes por la partida de esos cuatro inseparable hermanos que solo dedicaron su vida al trabajo. Toda persona que ha visto el Documental ha quedado impactada por la historia de los tres campecinos junto a su hermana, Que Dios los tenga en la Gloria. Muchas Gracias te doy tambien por usar nuestra Guayabera(camisa), simbolo campecino de nuestro pais. Dios te bendiga Amigo. Saludo de un Cubano mas.

[@fullsend8738]

@@emilio0596 capitalism will turn Cuba into Americas toilet again

[@BellaFirenze]

Qué horror. Tus numerosas faltas de ortografía demuestran la pésima calidad de la "educación" en Cuba.

[@debcab1]

Very Moving.. Thank you for sharing. Fell in love with the Brothers.

[@jeanvergara2054]

Me too!😔

[@andyvelasquez9488]

Me2!!!

[@gregotero8193]

Same!

[@tracyoldham4529]

Yes

[@divingchicago]

2020 I just watched. Thanks a million, my family lives in Sanitago de Cuba, they chose to stay and work as doctors. You did a great job of recording the humanness of the people and Castro's vision.

[@Marcmv329]

That’s wonderful that they stayed to help their community

[@atlmiaevents6988]

This film was outstanding and I fell so much involved with the families, 3 old men and their sister, the Black guy Walker? and the young girl and her son that both relocated to Tampa! It was an outstanding documentary and he spent his whole life documenting! It was wonderful🎉❤️.

[@aazarzabal9250]

So amazing film, should be nominated for the Oscars.

[@trueexclusives]

I just finished watching it and the first thing I said was "Where is this mans Oscar!?" Hope it gets nominated

[@tuloca9823]

The communist oscars sure

[@DrMonty-yr1kc]

@@tuloca9823 Oh yeah he is soo communist *sarcasm*

[@2advancedanalytics774]

Oscar no way// he was lucky to capture the footage/// but he has a BAD VIBE as an interviewer and came across as an unintelligent person

[@PalomaNegra873]

My father came on one of those boats in the 80s. This documentary was amazing. It made me feel closer to my culture. I wish we could find out how Caridad and her children are today. I hope Luis is doing well. The three brothers were so sweet and funny.

[@romzaish]

Thank you to document, that is a powerful and touching reporting on the lives of people you follow for decades. The relation you built with F. Castro was amazing and as he said you became like family. I spent almost 2 hours of my life in a very informative way, thanks to you. Your humanity shone through this documentary that I recommend all to see. 🙏🏽

[@kinginthenorth9002]

I’m seeing this in 2020 and I realize that life is short

[@arricammarques1955]

Cubans sense of community amazing to witness.

[@NoVolveran]

Same feeling here bro

[@bvlog4857]

2022 and I’m crying contemplating life it’s short and miserable my friend

[@mikeklein7931]

Me too. Life is beautiful, painful, and short...

[@mikeklein7931]

Misery is often a state of mind. The sister in this video still smiled.

[@pittgerman5568]

I was born in 1969 a wonderful year in México and when I saw this film in 2023 it made me think how fast time goes by in a blink of an eye. Beautiful film, good job Jon..

[@erickcuellar6296]

It's an amazing documentary. So realistic. Very close view of society. I felt in love with the Borregos's brothers. And you can see how life passes so fast.

[@tombkings6279]

And how strong they were

[@luchopty68]

He visto este documental. Muy sensible, he estado en Cuba y sé lo que la gente sufre pero siguen adelante, Dios quiera algún día todo cambie para bien no para mal, la historia de Cuba esta llena de mucho sufrimiento desde la llegada de los españoles hasta hoy día. quiero felicitar a Jon alpert por tan excelente, única producción Dios lo bendiga. Me hizo llorar este documental cada historia sensible incluso hasta el mismo Fidel. Saludos desde Panamá.

[@CaliJoce]

I saw this film. I felt so attached to the 3 elderly man. It broke my heart when the thieves took the ox, cows and and pretty much all their hard work. They are a great example of hard working ethics. Never gave up. REST IN PEACE🙏. Side note: nothing in life is free.... Fidel's socialism didn't work and never will.

[@mrlollipop638]

Fidel's socialism absolutely worked. Before socialism Cuba was led by an American puppet dictator who allowed he mafia to totally run Havana. There were homeless beggars in the streets, women hooked on drugs so the mafia could exploit them and make them prostitutes, and peasants in the fields were forced to work fourteen hour days for pennies while landlords and American sugar corporations grew disgustingly wealthy off the backs of them. If these peasants got sick, they had no access to any form of healthcare, and they had to take special care to avoid private plantation land while traveling to a city hospital so landlords wouldn't have them shot for trespassing. Castro's revolution was a revolution that provided for the humble and the people who did all the labor that maintained the country, and it booted out the mafia and all the American puppets. Castro's revolution provided so many people with access to healthcare, education, housing, and a sense of dignity for the first time in their lives. These were things not even the poor in New York City had access to as shown in Alpert's documentary. The United States has no right to criticize Cuba for any of its economic troubles while imposing a brutal and inhumane embargo on them for sixty years and sabotaging them every chance they got. The problem isn't socialism, it's imperialism, and when you compare the achievements of socialist Cuba to any capitalist Latin American country, they are truly remarkable. I visited Guatemala two years ago and so many people can't even read that the buses are color-coded. The country is infested with bandits that rob buses and the government does nothing about it because they're too worried enriching themselves through corruption. We visited a museum on the genocide against Mayan people that occurred in the 1980s, and I was disgusted to find out the United States supported the dictatorship that committed this atrocity. Socialism would benefit this nation greatly. When you compare it to the achievements the socialist revolution in neighboring Nicaragua has made it becomes clear the vast superiority of socialism over capitalism for the third world.

[@mrlollipop638]

I don't agree with you. Capitalism only serves imperialist countries well (United States, Canada, western European nations, etc.). Capitalism does not work for the people of third world countries. I understand that your parents had a concern with the relative lack of social mobility in an Eastern European socialist country, but I assure you it was preferable to the enslavement East Asian factory workers face. These are people who work 16 hour work days, make pennies, are often homeless, have no doctor when they're sick, have no educational opportunities, they can't read, and about every other social ill you can think of. Even in pre-socialist Albania the human development was abysmal compared to socialist Albania and women were considered equal in value to a burlap sack and she was owned by her husband. What I said absolutely has to do with those brothers and their farm. They worked their land, and they decided their shifts, work habits, etc. Prior to the revolution, they would be practically owned by a landlord and all their work would go towards enriching an American capitalist. Without the socialist system, Cristobal never would have been able to get his throat surgery he needed due to his cancer. He wouldn't have had the wealth, and under a capitalist system there would have been no profit in treating him. I loved those brothers and I had to try not to cry when Cristobal was able to speak with his electric device and when Alpert visited the graves of the brothers six years later. One of their quotes stuck with me, and it was to the effect of "we all end up in the grave, and your life is only worth the deeds you commit, not the money you accumulate." It cannot be understated how much of a negative effect the American embargo has had on Cuba either. It has cost Cuba an estimated $1 TRILLION, and it has deprived Cuba from trading with so much of the western world. It was not only the loss of Soviet subsidies that hurt Cuba, they lost 85% of their trade partners during the collapse of the Soviet bloc. There's a reason Castro called it a tragedy. Cuba suffered, Koreans starved, and most of eastern Europe was thrust into poverty. Russia was run by the mafia for a decade after the Soviet collapse. I've visited another Latin American country, Guatemala. The unfairness I saw there was very affecting to me. So many people couldn't read that buses were color-coded, social programs were weak, and the government didn't do anything about the crime situation because they were busy enriching themselves through corruption. This country was capitalist, and the contrast in living standards when compared to socialist Cuba is remarkable. By no means is socialism perfect and every country has its problems. Even Raul Castro has stated that while the American embargo is strangling the Cuban economy, even if it disappeared Cuba would have its own problems to attend to. I am convinced that socialism is the way forward for humanity if we care about the poor, the exploited, the environment, and the equal development of humanity. Your family has my sincere sympathy for any hardships faced during the socialist era, but the oppression faced by the poor in third world capitalist countries is incomparable to anything else in my opinion, and I care about solving it greatly. Based on my research socialist countries have done the most for the development of their people. I didn't mean any disrespect to you and I wish you the best.

[@omarrodriguez7246]

Jocelyn H. Mannn thats the same thing i did..i cry when the sister said they had die..so sad.

[@upstreammiami]

Very sad as well no matter what situations they wete in they were always miling.

[@trueexclusives]

OMG! I was heartbroken as well. Those 3 elderly men worked so hard! I was so mad... but also glad that they never gave up and got more animals later on. Bless their souls and may they R.I.P. Such an amazing documentary.

[@katerinakochoska5256]

The best documentary EVER!! 👏 👏 👏 thank you Mr.Jon for sharing 😊 i fell inove with the brothers ❤

[@delmalopezgutierrez386]

Jon Alpert, que idea!, que amigos! Es bella la relación con los tres ancianos hermanos, me tocó el corazón de una manera tierna y triste. Me dolió tanto no volver a verlos tanto como a tí, y me entristeció tanto ver a su hermana solita, pero como dijo ella la vida es dura. Yo creo que es una dichaaa poder contar una historia de 40 años viendo la vida pasar.

[@mikeklein7931]

I can and have watched this video video over and over again. This is a beatuful story of friendship and adventure in an exotic and far away land. Its so amazing. The sister of the two brothers melts my heart. Beautiful

[@TonyNC7328]

I just found this movie - it's beautiful, touching and heartbreaking all at once.

[@prudencesadie9]

I'd love to see updates on all the people we fell in love with in his documentary. Especially Wilber? andhis family.

[@RobertoFernandezRey26604]

Jon, I am cuban and am 64, thank you very, very much. Your movie is the exact photo of cuban soul and reality. I can not forgive fidel castro for destroying Cuba and cubans' dreams. Great is the country where its childs do not need to emigrate to get their dreams. Again, Thank you for your effort and for the way you made the movie.

[@Georgian1717]

Excellent film, a life long labor of love, touching. You fall in love with the Cuban people and their spirit. ❤️ God bless Cuba!

[@amandaalvarez3578]

I see the movie i cant stop crying tinking about muy grandmother still there.This film really touch my hearth

[@AlasdairILoveOxford]

Very touching documentary- just watched it on netflix. There's loads of pathos and humanity in this film. The aspect which is most striking is the three old brothers on the farm. Such beautiful people.

[@Marcmv329]

Great documentary! Love that it’s 45 years of filming, really shows the big picture that socialism doesn’t work. Love the farming brothers and their sister.

[@conorfitzgerald8813]

I think it more shows how the USAs embargo really affected the Cuban people after the fall of the Soviet Union and how the USAs irrational fear of socialism leads them to try destabilise socialist nations

[@GunLobby]

Did you forget to consider the stranglehold the US kept on Cuba for 50 years ? Their determination to punish the Cuban people for the ultimate crime of freeing themselves from US parasites? Perhaps have a rethink on whether Cuba "failed" all by itself

[@bilHHaz]

Llore cuando murieron los 3 hermanos

[@Jakeypoo05]

Yo tambien

[@Marcmv329]

Yo también!

[@anotherone4u]

Greetings from Cuba!!!

[@felipejuarez5304]

Gracias por tu excelente trabajo y ese gran espíritu de lucha del pueblo cubano

[@paulexports]

just watched it...ive been to cuba also so recognised many things.....the 3 brothers and sister really touched me.........ive seen the crappy situations in the hospital........

[@century2007]

A Fantastic Movie and Journalism. A personal human journey that everyone can learn from.

[@JobsNearBy]

Thank you for the great film!

[@markplain2555]

I went to Cuba and made the point to speak with many 'average' people. (I can speak Spanish). I see people going to Cuba and coming back with a rosy picture. There are amazing things about Cuba, but there is a very harsh reality about Cuba and a very serious fundamental flaw about Cuba. Ye know his movie captures it.

[@fullsend8738]

A fundamental flaw is being sanctioned to death by the largest economy and influence in the world. RIP FIDEL

[@holdenkimeditor]

That was a great insightful interview. Thanks for sharing!

[@karinamorales3773]

Sentí tanta desesperación de ver sufriendo a los hermanos Borrego que sentí la necesidad de ir corriendo a ayudarles, pero después me di cuenta que eso fue ya hace varios años atrás, me hace valorar el trabajo duro y respetable que hacen la gente como ellos que lo hacen con amor a la tierra y a la familia y es triste saber que sufrieron y no poder hacer nada por ellos, que Dios los tenga en su gloria y que vivan las familias amorosas y trabajadoras como ellos.

[@mufliagfaransyah1530]

Just watched the film. Thank you, Jon. Thank you the Borrego brothers ❤️ Like to taste Cuban cigars!

[@pattyking5352]

This is such a good documentary

[@paulinaruizmoreno5195]

Big fan. Thank you 🙏🏼

[@evelynnguatemala2043]

Beautiful film!

[@dommarcito]

parabéns jon seu documentário foi uma excelente aula!!!

[@charlesx6594]

Great Job Jon. I loved your documentary . Thanks for telling the truth and for recognizing the sins of the USA goverments. Hope USA people study their REAL history and start putting some pressure on their government in order leave the world alone

[@b.a.2406]

It’s been one year, hopefully you’ve grown a brain by now.

[@charlesx6594]

@@b.a.2406 hope you've grown eyes, a working brain and some balls to see and recognize what you have before your nose

[@gabrielalfonso8812]

I’m Gabriel from Cuba and I can say everything has been so real and nothing uncertain. The daily reality of Cuba for decades. I lived that and believe me it’s very sad. That is one of the things why I don’t like to visit my homeland to see so much need at the whim of a government, at the whim of a party, an absurd and obsolete ideology.that has kept us in a fist for 60 years.

[@gustavorios9888]

I'm from Venezuela and it's incredible all the similarities of the stories of countries where a communist state gets stablished share. History always repeat because people always ignores it! Communist never worked, it's not working and it never will!

[@leonardomartinez7160]

I just watched the de movie of Jon Alpert and was very lovely and interesting movie... I went to Cuba (Habana) and they robbed my wallet with 800 dollars, my sunglasses an more stuff... I was very upset at the beginning... 19 yeas after that happened, I hope my money and stuff helped in some way to them... Amazing work Jon Alpert thank you... Greetings from Tecojorita municipio de Terrompo el Chico Jalisco México

[@MrRegerman]

thank you Mr. Alpert!

[@yelenacm2902]

Good job...👏👏👏👏

[@Leaf_Dragonz]

Amazing documentary it makes visible how the blockage and US policies had affected Cuba and instead all we buy comes from China and we have made them powerful buying every single item that comes from them and is another socialist country , those are things that don’t make sense to me and US relations with some other countries that don’t want to mention that have terrible policies against their own people against women against journalists ,is really illogical.

[@jeantoledo7614]

this moves me because it reminds of Puerto rico today

[@recomoto]

Jon has this way of answering questions in that he doesn't actually answer the question he is asked but explains another interesting thing.

[@pasajealodesconocidoalg2053]

Bello documental

[@1988kuriakos]

Saw it on netflix.really really good.

[@jandreumiscellaneousservic6202]

Love this film

[@jandreumiscellaneousservic6202]

❤ to much valor

[@marlensalabarria744]

Gracias por tan lindo trabajo, habla por si solo de lo fallido de este sistema , su política y absurda ideología. Las imágenes hablan po sí solas.

[@zebic300]

Hmm Iots of people instead of talking about the documentary are bla bla-ing here about Cuba economically without any facts or actual numbers compared to how are their neighbouring Latin island countries who are capitalist doing economically into perspective. You can't compare US and Cuba because it's just uncomparable, you can compare US and China and their economies for example if you wanna have capitalist/communist fight which is all that people seem to do here without any numbers. But Cuba is a small island country, and let's put facts of other small countries next to it into perspective, so as economy is done by numbers and not I have been there it's terrible, or I have been there it's great, let's see what numbers say: Data is taken from the source that I find most accurate for my work tradingeconomics.com/country-list/gdp-per-capita-ppp?continent=america Cuba's neighbouring countries GDP per capita ppp (purchasing power parity) are as follows: Dominican Republic 15.821,20 USD/per capita Haiti 1.656,29 USD/per capita Jamaica 8.265,60 USD/per capita Belize 7.810,20 USD/per capita Puerto Rico 35.085,30 USD/per capita Trinidad and Tobago 28.647,10 USD/per capita Cuba 21.016,65 USD/per capita So this info tells us that people on Jamaica or Dominican republic live in bigger poverty than Cuba, and Cuba's info is from 2015., the others from 2018., generally the GDP per capita grows every year so Cuba's would be higher if we had newer info as Cuba has been growing economically. And it shows us that people from Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago have higher living standard than Cuba. Cuba has even better living standard than Mexico which is at gdp per capita (ppp) at 18.101,90 USD/per capita, and that’s to say that Cuba has super low crime rate and is considered a very safe country (that’s why tourists like it among other things) especially compared to Mexico that had more than 35k killings (35.964) just last year (source: www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/21/they-hanged-him-the-mexican-town-tepexco-that-lynched-alleged-kidnappers) So with all this, Cuba (as only communist country here) is doing better than many other neighbouring capitalist countries except as mentioned Puerto Rico (a US land) and Trinidad and Tobago. And Cuba achieved all that under constant embargo and no help from Soviet Union after the 90's. And to get back to documentary it's very good.

[@iamjoaovicente]

If it weren't for capitalism, Cuba would have perished even more. If it weren't for the black markets they had there, millions of people would have starved to death, and if Castro hadn't allowed tourists to visit, (to spend their dollars there), the situation would've been even worse. Basically, what saved the "socialist paradise" was capitalism, it was the people not the government that did it. So stop trying to pretend that the bad things that happened there wasn't socialisms fault, cause it was.

[@jgp7414]

@@iamjoaovicente that's why communism doesnt work but socialism + capitalism can work.

[@iamjoaovicente]

​ @J G P Socialism + Capitalism? that doesn't even make any sense. Socialism preaches that the government should take the means of production, Capitalism is the complete opposite of that. Honestly, I don't know why people, (mostly teenagers), nowadays think that Socialism is a good thing.

[@zebic300]

@@iamjoaovicente I don’t see any exact numbers coming from you (what part of economy is black market playing?, where did you get this info?, how credible is it?), so this is all hearsay. As you can see in my writing I gave you exact credible data with the links where you can source them. If you wana comment only facts play it thanks. Yes Cuba is not doing well but it’s sure in a better state than many neighbouring island countries and doing all that under constant (60 years ling) US embargo. Why Haiti didn’t become tourist mecca since it’s located just next to Cuba but has actually 1/20 of Cuba’s gdp per capita (ppp)? And at least Cuba made a product to export, look here, rich country in need of Cuba’s export product (doctors), another article from probably the most credible newspapers in the world. www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/25/sicily-asks-cuba-to-send-medics-as-italy-fights-second-covid-wave?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

[@iamjoaovicente]

As you can see on the rank, countries that apply the free market system are richer and countries that apply socialism, or any type of government control system, are poorer, this is a fact. Where do you live? I'm guessing you´re probably from the us

[@patrickmccarron5059]

Excellent documentary. My mother's family escaped Communist Cuba just before the Bay of Pigs. The rest of the family did not escape until the 1980 Mariel Boat Lift just after Jimmy Carter stopped allowing boats - they escaped to New Orleans, Louisiana instead of Florida and avoided the Coast Guard. My Cuban Grandfather and his brothers were owners of the electric company Hernandez y Hermanos in Pinar Del Rio (The electric company was the first business stolen by the Castro Government). Very sad to see how socialism has totally destroyed what was once a wealthy and happy country. Cannot blame the embargo or U.S.A. for Cuba's plight and Castro's crackdown on freedom. Cuba has trade with the entire world and USA too for cash only. The reason are the Castro Family and Communism. Stealing of property and rights of the Cuban People. I only wish this documentary would have gotten the point of view of the Cuban Exiles (over 20% of the Cuban People have exiled Cuba because of Castros and Socialism). The documentary is one of the best on Cuba and proves that Big Government and Socialism is an utter failure and how it destroys people. But please quit blaming the embargo - that is a scapegoat for Castro and Socialism.

[@danielanunez6733]

The people who defend the government did not experience this, their businesses and houses taken away from the government and the death of those who refused. My grandpa did and he also came en el Mariel. Is sad how they got everything taken away from them.

[@azteca8837]

Life is amazing isn’t it?

[@OcilioTorresdelCampo]

It's not true that in '70 leaders were driving any Alfa Romeo. In that time all good cars were Soviet cars like "Chaika"

[@arricammarques1955]

Russian Ladas, 1950's autos made possible by cuban mechanics.

[@enmanuelmartinez709]

Exactly this guy is also biased and wrong...

[@LukasLeroi]

I love everyone in the film

[@rishabh5750]

Will he be going back to Cuba any time soon?

[@Pingaheimer]

Can someone subtitle this in spanish?

[@reyt3027]

Superrrrrr. Just want to say i lived almost 30 years in cuba and the castro regime is the worst system to have .

[@BellaFirenze]

Mr. Alpert’s friendliness toward Castro and many of his policies will no doubt infuriate some viewers (the authoritarian regime’s human rights abuses are not addressed).

[@robertomontoya4869]

El Comunismo no es malo, el Socialismo tampoco, el Capitalismo lo es? Tampoco, mientras existan personas de buen corazón no importa el sistema, desafortunadamente lo que domina al mundo son los intereses de los poderosos. Este documental demuestra qué hay gente buena en Cuba, en USA y en cualquier parte del mundo pero desafortunadamente dependemos de los que sólo buscan dominar al mundo 😔

[@oi3827]

I wish all young people in USA will watch this movie to understand how dangerous socialism is. How many broken lives, people live without future and without hope for better life. Documentary about crime against Cubans in Cuba.

[@ElleLove1]

Did you see why though?

[@conorfitzgerald8813]

Socialism in Cuba did work until the US decided to try and destabilise the country with embargo’s and assassination attempts, if America left Cuba alone I guarantee you the poverty and desperation the Cuban people felt in the 90s to the late 2000s and beyond would not have happened. If anything I hope the young American people who watch this understand how dangerous Capitalism is and how greedy it makes the US government to the point that they constantly interfere with foreign nations so they don’t lose out on a profit. America only put an embargo on Cuba to try make socialism look like it doesn’t work so it wouldn’t become popular in America and jeopardise the insane profits of the mega rich and greedy corporations that basically run the US.

[@ElleLove1]

@@conorfitzgerald8813 This is what I saw in this film. I don’t understand why others don’t see this. Thank you for this reply, couldn’t have put it in better words.

[@cdpmedia2011]

There are rulers (elite) and commoners (dependents). Lets face it virtually all of us need to be ruled over and provided for by the few great people. And Castro was one of those great people. His compassion comes through in the lense of the adoring Jon Alpert in this film. Its true that the masses were confined to the island by 'force' and provided a weekly bag of rice for 50 years but this movie makes that look kind of like a bad thing when it is a great thing. What I see is the utopia that the US can..and will soon become.

[@Pingaheimer]

You simply don't know what the fuck you're talking about........

[@cdpmedia2011]

Irony and sarcasm arent your thing I guess :(

[@Pingaheimer]

oh ok.

[@mrlollipop638]

Haha really funny, an American mocking the achievements of the country that his country has embargoed for over half a century and sabotaged at every possible opportunity. I assure you the United States is more responsible for misery around the world than any other country in human history.

[@cdpmedia2011]

Embargo? Why would a socialist utopia need a bunch of capitalist crap shipped in? That makes no sense. Your dystopia must be hard to square with the realities of your privilege and fortune of abundance...as you type away and communicate through your US-originating ingenuity that improved your life (and a billion more) enough that all you need for is time to bitch and bemoan. look around the room you sit in at this moment and think about the origin of the things and science that saves you. I must be conversing with a 20 year old college student - a spoild child.

[@darrentimothy5392]

He never asked Fidel Castro about all the political prisoners he had locked up including many of his former comrades and it proves one thing as soon as the soviet union pull out The country went into rapid decline and has never recovered, It is a very nice film but i think this guy wouldn't have lasted long under the Castro regime, Castro was never a socialist he was a megalomaniac who lived in luxury while his country suffered, I think the ideals of the revolution were great but Cuba only exchanged American imperialism for soviet imperialism,, Socialism does not work look at Venezuela a once prosper country and now can't feeds its people and a regime kept in power by cuban secret police,

[@arricammarques1955]

Jon Albert film would never find a distributor if it was that political.

[@enmanuelmartinez709]

Thanks...someone with common sense here...pffff

[@fullsend8738]

What the fuck is Soviet Imperialism you Mayo brained reactionary

[@DidiRamoss11]

So we’re just gonna ignore that wilber/wilder had a baby with his little sister 👀👀

[@Marcmv329]

Yuck! I didn’t know that

[@arneezyr1592]

No shit?

[@pedro.mmm9]

I didn't know Cuba had diplomats in the US after the revolution

[@_karla._]

Even North Korea has diplomats in the US.

[@silviab5579]

Jon Alpert talks about the Cuba social programs like there were not other countries in 1959 with better social programs. Germany, UK,.. all West Europe (without need of violate the Human Rights and nationalize all companies) were developing similar social programs, economically sustainable social programs. The documentary is good. The time has been brutal for Cuba. The documentary is good, even for showing how a criminal historical figure like Fidel can mesmerize a journalist like Alpert. The Human Right situation the Cuban people had to suffer is terrible and outrageous. But for some reason, it is presented as kind of romantic, there is a cameraman looking for the nice side of the dictator, pushing his daughter to ask for the dictator signature. Fidel was a criminal, please...

[@fergar9264]

Stop talking bullshit , get yourself to read a bit more and watch a bit less private tv. Right now there are US citizens breaking the law , going to Cuba via Canada to buy Cimavax the first working vaccine against lung cancer , they pay 10.000$ for a year treatment , who knows what would be of Cuba if they could sell its more than 500 drug patents in USA , or if the y could sell their cigars or just allow to american citizen to travel to Cuba freely , just try to imagine that European Union bans its citizens to travel to a country like Spain of France or and ban all kind of business, what would be of that country?

[@silviab5579]

Fer Gar Stop talking what... ?Very comprensible your Fidel's admiration. That is exactly what Fidel said and enforced, he stopped all opposite opinions. :) Dear cjg58pra, Fidel was bad. He was a dictator. Even if he would created sustentable social programs (that he did not) the fact of being a dictator is enough, he was evil and cruel with the Cuban people. Pretty sure Hitler, Pinochet, and all the other were "not completely bad", "many layers" also...., No? No, being a dictator is wrong, no layers. Fidel insataured a totalitarian regime, millions emigrated, people was condemn to death in ilegal judicial processes, there is not free press. Please, evaluate Cubans situation with the same standards that you would evaluate yourself, your right to be free, and you will understand how evil Fidel was.

[@tinotrivino]

he meant america, all america! But if we talk about human rights, i think USA is the worse, specially their implications for putting dictators in free nations!

[@pedro.mmm9]

He's handsome and I want to be that handsome when I'm his age

That's a nice guayabera!

[@gabepenn7386]

these "primitive" farming technologies only got started after the robolution...

[@elgritton]

heard wikipedia used as source, I cringe

[@cardanolovelace5187]

Viva la revolucion

[@clopezb123]

Sad you failed to mention how the Castro's (and the Communist regime) are RICH and the Cuban ppl are still going without food, proper medical care, and watching their homes crumble. Ridiculous to blame the US when the only people surviving in Cuba are those that receive American dollars from their families abroad only further enriching the Cuban govt. Cuba Libre!

[@luisenrique9015]

People praising dictatorships, if you live long enough you get to see everything

[@armandocolls5010]

The arrogance of the Americans (or maybe just this particular American) shows in the thinking that when the US is allowed into Cuba everything will be all right for the Cuban people....... Meanwhile the island has been open to the rest of the world and all the Cuban government can do is continue to ask for help and keep its people starving and in the dark. This movie was painful to watch for many reasons, but it brought me to tears to watch Jon Alpert fall over himself just to get an audience with a murderer......

[@pedroluispupocardoso384]

I am Cuban . I saw the documentary... Cuba has many problems as other nations have. I was traveling through central american countries and I saw more poverty than there is in Cuba. Kids asking for money all the time, drugs on sale on the street,, old people asking for money all the time,, streets dirty,, I wonder why the yellow press is not focus in those countries,,, In Cuba people as average live in better conditions,,, and I want to correct you Cuba is not open there is an embargo,, if you trade with Cuba you are not allow to trade with Americans companies,,,it is not fair ,,,let them live their own fate,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, no more bullies

[@mrlollipop638]

If you cried at the sight of somebody desiring an interview with Fidel Castro, then you'd probably have a heart attack any time somebody interviews any modern American president. Castro's government executed at most a few hundred Batista thugs. George W. Bush killed hundreds of thousands of civilians in an invasion based on a false premise.

[@l.g.6629]

I am Cuban too and have seen all those things you are saying do not happen in Cuba. Que calles estan limpias en Cuba? Solo las que transitan los turistas. En lo unico que tienes razon es que en Cuba no hay tantas drogas como en otros paises de latinoamerica. And you sided with him by saying that only American companies are not allowed to trade in Cuba. Do you foreget that only European companies can trade in Cuba, and us Cubans can only work for them, like slaves without being able to open our own companies. How about the fact that until 2008 Cubans were not even allowed to enter to tourist areas in our own country! Eres cubano o eres una de esas ratas que trabajan escribiendo comentarios pro castristas en la internet? O quizas simplemente tienes mala memoria y muy poco amor a tu pais. Amor a Castro no es amor a Cuba, y el comunismo es una ideologia no un pais. Solo quisiera que quitaran el embargo para ver a quien van a culpar los castristas por sus fracasos.

[@mrlollipop638]

No, I said ships that trade in Cuban ports cannot trade with the United States. That doesn't mean they only can't trade with American companies. Trading also doesn't mean employment so I'm sure what your point about European companies means. There's also a sizable private sector in Cuba due to budget strains caused by the socialist bloc being dissolved so people aren't banned from opening companies and the idea that they're enslaved by foreign companies is a flat lie.

[@l.g.6629]

Oh the arrogance! Having to hear such nonsense from someone who hasn't lived in Cuba is unbelievable. Maybe I did not make myself clear, European and Canadian companies are the only ones allowed to open import/export businesses in Cuba. And Cubans are not slaved to them, as a matter of fact, the ones who work for them are part of the privileged few who make a livable wage in Cuba, I'm sure you get the irony of that. The injustice lies in that Cubans are not allowed to open such businesses, only work for them. Another group of Cubans who get enough money to get by, are those who have jobs related to tourism like the chemical engineer who you see selling trinkets to tourists because this gives him more money than actually working as a chemical engineer for the state. The last group who makes money in Cuba are those few who are allowed to open restaurants and rental houses for tourists. This does not really make it a sizable private sector, in reality most of the restaurant owners in Cuba are people who already had some money by either being high ranking officials of the government or having family in the US or Europe who could finance this endeavor, since banks are not really a thing in Cuba. Plus, recently last year, government restaurants not being able to compete with private restaurants for obvious reasons, caused the government to restrict the number of chairs allowed in private restaurants, and the removal of licences to some restaurants. Also last year, the government stopped issuing licences for rental houses for tourists because again the private sector was winning over state owned hotels. So all of this leaves clear than the private sector in Cuba is not sizable, and is very unstable, with the government being able to take away your licence, and therefore all of your investments in an instant. If you read all of this then you realize that Cubans are indeed, extremely dependent on foreigners. Only foreigner companies allowed to import/export, the only businesses in the private sector are those related to tourism (foreigners). And everything else belongs to a government controlled by ex-military who know nothing about money or how to manage it, and whose failures are not due to the fall of the soviet bloc, but to their own thirst for power and lack of management skills, traits common in the leadership of most countries. The only difference is that in most countries these people do not have absolute power. I've been as clear as I can be in a KZbin comment, and have spent more time than I would like explaining myself to someone who knows absolutely nothing about Cuba. That is not your fault of course, you were not born in Cuba. I hope you can look past your arrogance and realize that the US as powerful as it is, was not the main protagonist in Cuba's economic downfall. And besides, why would a communist country need the produce of capitalism so much that its economy cannot function without it? The arrogance of American socialism is such that everything bad that happens in the world, somehow it's America's fault. I hope that one day you change your mind, as I think you have socialist political views because you have the best intentions for the people of the world, but you ideals preach good and cause evil.

[@patrickmccarron5059]

Germany was able to tear down their wall. Unfortunately Cuba is surrounded by an Atlantic Ocean.

[@patrickmccarron5059]

Finite, I do agree with your point. Capitalism, Free Trade always helps tear down the walls of stagnant socialism. America allows free trade for food and medicine for cash only. What we don't want is trade on credit, because ultimately the American tax payer will be left paying the bill. The Castro Government has awful credit and history of not paying their bills and debt forgiveness from the taxpayers of other countries. So I would support free trade for cash only.

[@sergiodiaz2725]

Fidel, nothing but a monster guilty of the way my people have been living for 60 years.

[@amazoniaselvagem5695]

O comunismo só nos trás miséria Aqui no estado do Maranhão Brasil, ainda temos um. Então votarei na única esperança que temos, Bolsonaro 2022

[@jimrice7169]

I enjoyed the film, but found it incomplete. Why didn't Alpert make any reference to Castro's murderous regime?

[@jimrice7169]

Indio Hatuey, Castro during his 58 years of dictatorship was an evil man, a communist who tortured, killed and imprisoned with no remorse, a tyrant who tore a once-beautiful country apart and sent its finest citizens into exile. Castro murdered thousands upon thousands. The late R.J. Rummel, a University of Hawaii professor who tracked mass-killings by governments around the world, estimated as many as 141,000 people were murdered by the Castro regime. And that was just through 1987. Since then, of course, thousands more have been killed.

[@ALVSJE]

Because it has no existence! Thank you very much have a nice day

[@Georgian1717]

I think he tried to show how Cubans saw Fidel. He tried to show what overpowered them through his personality and he certainly would not been able to film for 40 years if he spoke against him....anyone who did could be killed. He played his cards right...if you listen carefully, he shows his failings clearly thru the film. Showing Fidel at the end of his life shows he was just human and not a god.

[@davidgon98]

This guy has the history of what happened in Cuba all twisted. Please check them yourself.

[@patrickmccarron5059]

Great documentary, but then to worship the very tyrant responsible for all the misery, theft, imprisonment, and murder presented in this documentary sort of befuddles me and is disheartening. I wish I could ask John Alpert how he can still admire Fidel Castro?

[@YC305]

Patrick McCarron because he’s free and his belly full and doesn’t know or want to know the crimes Fidel did to his own people. The guy was threatening the US with nuclear weapons, isn’t that enough for you people? I can’t believe how people admire this fucking guy.

[@anadelaera271]

@@YC305 It's like Obama never bombed any yemenis or murdered innocent iranis and palestinians... The real question is not "why do people admire Castro", the question is "why do people admire and SUPPORT any US president"

[@enmanuelmartinez709]

So true

[@zdanlins]

Jon is a little bit arrogant towards the end.. Stopped speaking Spanish, for example. The true glory of this movie is the story of the brothers. Just three beautiful human beings. The rest is just blah..

[@jorgemuriel8790]

As a native spanish speaker, I greally believe that he kinda forgot how to speak Spanish in general(towards the end of the documentary), its extremely difficult to catch up if you dnt practice that often!!!

[@gabepenn7386]

SCARFACE is a fictional story written by Oliver Stone to discredit cuban exiles, he based the script on the original scarface with paul muni as Al Capone

[@2advancedanalytics774]

I liked the Documentary ; but JON ALPERT asked / commented as a STUPID PERSON with a "low IQ".... filmage was excellent ; but everytime he said something or mentioned / or commented /interrupted people ( was Unclassy)….thus he is not a GOOD interviewer)...he definitely will not be hired in the upper class of NBC universal or CBS or ABC ///...overall I think he had a bad vibe ( but was lucky to capture the footage).

[@maycastle7069]

btw borregos means sheeps

[@bvlog4857]

I cried knowing they r gone. I go to Cuba and my one wish would be to see them alive

[@gabepenn7386]

where you get all that crap? the money they got was from the soviet union and from colombian drugs, not the sugar economy....

[@dwes49]

Wish I could fine an interview about a year in the life of crime

[@tuloca9823]

Communist director

[@ezeddie32]

It's amazing how this guy does such a great job and such a poor job all in one documentary. The blockade is the reason the Cuban people are suffering? That is such a hollow view, coming from a person that visited the people of Cuba for so many years. At the same time came back to the US, and had the resources to meet with exiles that could tell him the other side he fails to present in this piece. How he mentions in passing that Castro opened up his hails and mental institutions is an insult.