I Am Cuba

In the shadows of Havana's glittering casinos, Maria lives in a squalid shantytown while dreaming of a better life. She sustains a double life as 'Betty,' a bar prostitute who caters to rich Americans. One night, a client asks to see where she lives, and she reluctantly leads him to her small home.

The casino client pays for the night, blinded by wealth and indifference. The next morning he tosses her a few dollars and takes her crucifix necklace, her prized possession. The theft exposes the hollowness of the American fantasy and Maria's precarious position.

René walks in and finds his fiancée's hidden life laid bare in the squalor of her home. The client coldly says, 'Goodbye, Betty!' as he exits, leaving both men to confront the truth. The moment fractures their relationship and highlights the social divide between luxury and poverty.

Pedro has just harvested his best sugar crop, hopeful for a better future. A landlord arrives, announcing that United Fruit has bought the land and that Pedro and his family must leave immediately. The abrupt loss of land sets the stage for a desperate decision.

Pedro lies to his children, telling them everything will be fine, and gives them what money he has to enjoy a last day in town. He stays behind to confront the looming displacement and to protect his family as best he can. The moment is a quiet but powerful act of sacrifice.

Left behind, Pedro pours all his remaining energy into a final act of resistance by setting his crops and house on fire to deny the landlord any future livelihood. The blinding smoke consumes him before help can come. His death marks a brutal end to one man's fight against an overwhelmingly powerful force.

At Havana University, Enrique leads a group of restless students who crave a decisive, dramatic action against the regime. He grows frustrated with small protests and envisions an assassination of the police chief. The plan reflects the intensity and danger of revolutionary fervor.

While the group prints flyers, police infiltrate their ranks and arrest several members. One revolutionary discards flyers into the crowd, only to be shot by a police officer. The crackdown underscores the peril of dissent and foreshadows the movement's costs.

Enrique leads a protest at the university as security forces flood the area with hoses to break it up. The protest erupts into violence, and Enrique is shot; his body is carried through the streets as a martyr for the cause. His death becomes a symbol of sacrifice that fuels wider resistance.

Mariano, a quiet farmer, rejects the revolutionary soldier's plea to join the war, preferring peace for his children. He asks the soldier to leave and expresses his longing for a simple, tranquil life. The moment foreshadows the coming conflict and the personal stakes involved for ordinary people.

Government planes begin indiscriminate bombing, destroying Mariano's home and killing his son. The tragedy shatters his resolve and pushes him toward taking a stand with the rebels. The attack crystallizes the cost of revolution for the civilian population.

Grief and anger drive Mariano to join the Sierra Maestra rebels, seeking a chance at a better life for his children. He rises through the ranks and commits to the struggle as a path to change. His experience culminates in a march toward Havana with the rebel forces.

Mariano leads the rebels into Havana in a triumphant march, signaling the revolution's momentum and a new dawn for the Cuban people. The procession embodies victory and the continued fight for dignity. The film closes with a surge of collective hope for a transformed nation.