Blackouts Can’t Stop This Havana Movie Night

"Movie Friday!" shouted a group of children interrupting the interview.

"Do you have electricity at home?" asked María Karla Acosta Toledo, with Belly of the Beast.

"No, there's no power," said Ulises Jiménez Torres, Old Havana resident.

"So you came here..." María Karla said.

"To watch the movie. It's great," Jiménez Torres said.

"It's something that entertains us when the power goes out. It's a good thing they're doing," said María Cecilia Pérez León, Old Havana resident.

"The power in this block doesn't go out often because the cables are underground," said Raúl González Camacho, Old Havana resident.

"We're taking advantage of having electricity to keep the kids busy because these blackouts are terrible," Raúl said.

"I was bored at home. I didn't have anything to do. I saw a flyer about a movie showing Friday," said Yaisbel Limonta, Old Havana resident.

"I like the movie," said Jeankelly Casales, Old Havana resident.

"Why?" María Karla asked.

"Because I like Michael Jackson," Casales replied.

"I passed by and saw them watching Elpidio Valdés, so I stayed to watch," said Ezequiel Malé Echavarría, Old Havana resident.

"Community cinema goes back to ICAIC's early days. Mobile cinemas were transported by truck, and showed 35mm films. We're continuing that work," said Gloria Rolando Casamayor, Cuban documentary filmmaker.

"I coordinate activities on our block and the neighborhood," González Camacho said.

"Gloria, the neighbor across the street, works at ICAIC and started this project so we could watch movies and entertain the kids," Raúl added.

"This was a gift from the minister of culture to me and the neighborhood, to bring cinema to more people," Rolando Casamayor said.

"Anything that brings culture to the community is good because people are already suffering enough with blackouts and other problems," Rolando Casamayor said.

"And, well, this is a small contribution to make life a little easier," she concluded.