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 Contacting Gloria Rolando Documental histórico sobre problema racial en Cuba, CubaNow, 8/16/10 US Tour: 2010: 1912,
Breaking the Silence
Gloria Rolando presents My Footsteps in Baraguá in Toronto, 9/11/07
Long time Imagines del Caribe co-producer, cameraman, and special effects
expert Gilberto
Martinez now in the US, available for presentations. 9/06. He
has the roster of films with him, including the yet to be commercially
released The Jazz in Us Interview: Raices Negras, Aliento Universal, Gloria entrevistada por Mercedes Santos Testimonial
Speech at Black Women Writers and the Future |
Gloria
Rolando's career spans over 20 years at ICAIC, the Cuban national film institute. She now
also heads an independent film-making group, Imagines del Caribe, based in
Havana. Many of her films are available through AfroCubaWeb
and include, in chronological order: 4) "El Alacrán / The Scorpion," 2000, 19 mn, deals with the carnaval in Havana and one comparsa especially, El Alacrán, which was founded in 1908 and dedicated to Yemaya. Available, with English subtitles, DVD. 5) "Raices de Mi Corazon/Roots of My Heart," 2001, feature film on the 1912 genocide when over 6,000 members of the Independents of Color, the first black political party outside of Haiti, were massacred by the Cuban Army. This independently produced feature film follows a young woman as she finds out about her families roots, which includes disturbing revelations around the 1912 Genocide (El Doce). 51 min. Available with English subtitles, DVD 6) "Los Marqueses de Atarés," 2003, a documentary about another Havana comparsa, or carnival group, which continues her group's strategy of rescuing and preserving afrocuban cultural expressions. 46 min. Very well received in the Atarés neighborhood and other centers such as the Conjunto Folklorico Nacional. In Spanish. Premiered in 2002, available in Spanish only, but worth getting even if you don't know Spanish -- many great Carnaval scenes. Available in DVD 7) "Nosotros y el Jazz / The Jazz in Us," 2004. The goal of this documentary is to relate a chapter in the history shared by Afrocubans and African Americans through their common culture. English subtitles. Not released commercially. 8) “Pasajes Del Corazón y La Memoria” (Historias de Cubanos y Caimaneros), 2007. English: Cherished Island Memories. The story of the founding of Jacksonville, Isle of Youth, Cuba, by immigrants from the Cayman Islands. Available in DVD 9)
1912:Breaking the Silence/1912, Voces para un Silencio, 2010. First chapter
in a documentary series on the Massacre of 1912. To be released soon.
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Spring 2001 US Tour
Fall '99 Tour US Tour: Oct/Nov '98 Paris: July '98 US Tour: Feb - April '98 US Tour: Aug - Oct '97 US Tour:1996 |
Contacting Gloria Rolando |
Today's Cuba contains priceless survivals of African cultures, both from the mother continent and the diaspora: Yoruba, Congo, Dahomey, Efik/Efo (Niger Delta), Jamaica, the Bahamas, Haiti, and others. Each community has maintained its identity through language, music, dance, religion, and membership organizations such as cabildos and the West Indian Welfare Center. The transmission of these cultures continues through the younger generations and will be enhanced with a series of documentaries that Gloria has planned.
More information:
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Premier en los cines Yara y Acapulco del documental de Gloria Rolando sobre “el Partido Independiente de Color”, la Habana, 11 de agosto, 2010. Intervinieron muchos intelectuales, historiadores y personalidades de la cultura cubana, le hicieron muchisimos elogios al documental en todos los sentidos y estan esperando ya la segunda parte.
1912:Breaking the Silence/1912, Voces para un Silencio, Biblioteca Nacional, 19/3/10
Cinema Kingston heads out on high note
Lynn Rees Lambert
Local News - Wednesday, September 12, 2007 Updated @ 3:35:28 PM
Cinema Kingston is focusing on a musical note this fall when the once a month Sunday features highlight the theme of music and musicals from around the world. Up first, Sunday, Sept. 16, is Roots of My Heart and Eyes of the Rainbow by Cuban director Gloria Rolando. The director will be at the screening.
"Raíces de mi corazon" (Roots of my heart), an independently produced short feature film, deals with the 1912 massacre of many thousands of members of the Independents of Colour,the hemisphere’s first black political party outside Haiti. Eyes of the Rainbow considers the life of Assata Shakur, the Black Panther and Black Liberation Armyleader who escaped from prison and was given political asylum in Cuba, where she has lived for close to 15 years.
Rolando’s career spans over 20 years and she heads an independent filmmaking group,
Imagines del Caribe, based in Havana.
Cinema Kingston is sponsored by the Department of Film Studies at Queen’s University and is part of the
Toronto International Film Festival Group’s Film Circuit.
520 // LIA011 Panel Thursday Sep 6 6:00 - 7:45 pm St-Laurent - Hilton
La mujer cubana en el cine y en las artes
Organizer : Flora Gonzalez-Mandri, Emerson College
Chair(s) : Flora Gonzalez-Mandri, Emerson College
De la memoria a la actualidad en las obras de Rolando y Jiménez: Flora
Gonzalez-Mandri, Emerson College
La creación de Imágenes del Caribe: Gloria Rolando, ICAIC, CUBA
Discussant(s) : Nancy Morejón, Casa de las Américas, CUBA
See lasa.international.pitt.edu/congress/documents/LASA2007Program/LASA2007-Thursday.pdf for more details.
545 // LIA045 Panel Friday Sep 9 10:00 - 11:45 am Silver West 1 - Normandie
Raza e Historia en Raices de mi corazón de Gloria Rolando: Flora González-Mandri, Emerson College
See lasa.international.pitt.edu/lasa2006_archive/2006program/LASA2006-Friday.pdf
for more details.
In the municipality of Baraguá, in the province of Ciego de Avila, Cuba, the stories and customs of the English-speaking West Indians and their descendants still remain alive. Today, they are a part of Cuba. For some, there is always the nostalgia for the country to which they will never return; others believe their culture is totally part of today’s Cuba. Gloria Rolando’s poetic documentary is an important contribution to the history of the Afro Cuban people, and to the study of the African diaspora in the Caribbean. See My Footsteps in Baraguá
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| La mañana rebosaba de luz y voces en el barrio de Colon ese día en que Gloria Rolando me recibió en su casa para hablar sobre la última de sus obras: “Nosotros y el Jazz”. En ella cuenta la historia de un grupo de hombres y mujeres que allá por los cuarenta se unieron en la pasión común de degustar una música foránea. Gloria una vez más, oficia el ritual de colocar nuevos monumentos en los mapas de la memoria afrocubana, mostrando otra zona del tejido vital y complejo que la compone. Y.S. ¿Que te motivó a indagar sobre los bailadores de Jazz? Quería hacer algo sobre las sociedades de color, sobre la vida social del negro en Cuba en la República, que es un capítulo desconocido fuera de la memoria familiar. La gente parecía sentía esos espacios como propios, a pesar de la segregación, esos lugares eran una fuente de orgullo y de respeto para ellos. Escuche hablar de las sociedades a mi abuela que era de Santa Clara. ¡Fíjate tú, donde en el parque Vidal, los negros iban para un lado y los blancos por el otro! Mi abuela, que limpiaba piso pero nunca se repetía un vestido de un domingo a otro. Tenía recuerdos muy emotivos de los bailes de la Unión Fraternal y de otras similares. Pensé en algún momento hacer algo sobre " Marianao Social", pero cuando me acerqué a lo que queda de él se me cayó el alma porque me di cuenta que era algo muerto, algo que ya no iba a ser. Había oído hablar de Gilberto Valdés y su grupo. A partir de un primer encuentro en la UNEAC me di cuenta que era una amistad que había durado todo una vida. No tenía recursos ni el tiempo para hacer una investigación muy larga. El día del cumpleaños de Gilberto los conocí un poco más de cerca, empecé a probar y a filmar de este grupo. Tocaba en “La Zorra y El Cuervo” el grupo Jazz Generation Classic, conseguimos un permiso y se iniciaron las grabaciones. A partir de este grupo, porque no les gusta el Latin Jazz, comenzaron a hilvanarse las entrevistas. La base de las imágenes de “La Zorra y el Cuervo”, me empezó a meter en el ambiente. Comenzamos a reunirnos a las casas y fueron apareciendo los temas: como empezaron a escuchar esta música, como llegaba esa música a Cuba, los lugares donde se reunían y la historia de su amistad. La zona del puerto de la Habana era donde se forjaba esa cultura, esa música no la escuchaban en la radio u otros sitios. Iban escondidos de sus familias, tenían 16 o 17 años. Llegar allí era como la graduación para un bailador, de esta manera comenzamos a revivir una época, a respirarla. Y.S.¿Cómo era la reacción del medio social a este tipo de afiliación? Todos eran bailadores de música cubana, pero además cuando empiezan a oír esta, comienzan a seguirla sin dejar de bailar en las sociedades, donde introducen esta música y este estilo de baile, por ellos supe que en no pocas sociedades se bailaba el Jazz. En el documental se recoge el momento en que Gilberto escucha por primera vez esta música, saliendo del Isora Club, donde iba La Orquesta Aragón frecuentemente y oye a Gillespie en un victrola y se fascina. Ellos no estaban aislados, también estaban vinculados por otra parte con el movimiento del Filling. Yo quise tambien enfatizar que ser bailador no era ser barco, ni antisocial, ellos eran obreros, estudiantes, a las muchachas había que acompañarlas a sus casas. Y.S. ¿Cuál fue el peso de la cinematografía para el desarrollo de este grupo? El fotógrafo Azcuy formaba parte de este grupo y gracias a eso existe alguna memoria tangible de ellos. Pero no habiendo una cinematografía cubana amplia y teniendo en cuanta los roles que desempeñaban los negros en ella, cuando llegan filmes norteamericanos como Stormy Whether, ver aquellos negros bailar, tan elegantes, con sus modas, sus peinados, eso fue un impacto tremendo, según tengo entendido hasta dentro de los Estados Unidos. Era un mundo fantástico, ellos lo sabían, pero eso los llenó, descubrieron valores estéticos. Nunca tuvimos películas así en medio de una sociedad segregada. Además más de la filmografía misma, ellos pudieron ver de cerca esas estrellas, aquí vinieron Catherin Durkheim, vieron danza moderna, Cab Calloway y los Nicholas Brothers, que se presentaron ese mismo Teatro Campoamor que ahora esta en ruinas. Ahí me di cuenta de la clase de Habana de la que me estaban hablando. La Habana era una capital artística. Aún cuando nací; el barrio donde nací, era todo música. La Habana era toda música en 1953. Comprendí la necesidad de esas imágenes para el documental. Chester me las facilitó y las retuve, sin que ellos supieran. Se las puse un día buscando la sorpresa. Buscamos uno de ellos con un televisor grande y filmamos sus reacciones, nunca tuve un permiso de la Twenty Century Fox, pero eso no podía faltar ni por ellos, ni para aquellos que se asomen a conocer su historia. Y.S. Me llamo la atención el claro sentido racial que tenía para ellos esa música… Aquí se han limitado muchas nociones en aras de una historia nacional, de una cultura nacional. Solo les preguntaba porque el Jazz y así salía el sentido racial, de “okokkan” como ellos mismo dicen. Se ha querido siempre lograr y demostrar que el negro cubano no tiene conciencia de su negritud, ellos demuestran que no es así. Y.S. Gloria, hasta el momento; ¿cuántas presentaciones se han hecho del documental y cual ha sido el apoyo recibido? El documental ha tenido dos presentaciones una en el Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes y otra en la U.N.E.A.C. Bueno una presentación en Bellas Artes que tuvimos que suspender por problemas con el aire acondicionado, el Teatro estaba abarrotado, en todas las presentaciones el publico ha sido tremendo y muy participativo en los debates. Nosotros tuvimos solo apoyo del ICAIC en cuanto al sonido. En cuanto se hizo la reunión de producción, nos preguntaron: “¿Y qué ganamos nosotros con facilitarles las consolas? Nosotros preguntamos: “¿Qué les interesaría? Nos respondieron: “Queremos la distribución nacional”. Sin embargo la copia original que les enviamos duerme en la oficina de Isabel Prendes sin comentario alguno. Y.S. Algún agradecimiento especial…. Para mi equipo técnico siempre, que es maravilloso. A través de nuestro trabajo han descubierto cosas que no sabían, por ponerte un ejemplo, con "Las raíces de mi corazón", Ellos desconocían completamente la historia sobre Los Independientes de Color y la masacre. Nunca han cuestionado los temas que trabajo a pesar de la intensidad con que lo hemos hecho y la poca recompensa. Los resultados están ahí, estoy contenta con la fotografía de este documental. Fotografiar gente negra es una cosa muy difícil, que salga la textura, pero ahí se ven los sudores, cosas que creo que ni siquiera ellos mismos saben pero que lo han ido descubriendo. La conversación es inacabable a la sombra esta mujer fresca y sin edad. Ya la tarde hunde sus brazos rosa en la ciudad cuando vuelvo a las calles bulliciosas. “Nosotros y el Jazz”, tiene el don de inquietar persistentemente, puesto que abre el corredor hacia zonas aparentemente discontinuas en el panorama de la cultura nacional; estigmatizadas por su cobertura mimética, como la escena del rap actual; que forman parte de los puentes invisibles de la diáspora africana. En Cuba estas expresiones identitarias particulares hablan también de la pertenencia a una nación negra trasnacional, enardeciendo una memoria apisonada con saña sobre nuestro el común origen de todas sus recreaciones culturales en el Nuevo Mundo. Se trata de que ese Jazz es muy nuestro, tan bantú, tan yoruba , como todo lo que nos habita. |
Chorus Of Praises, Counterpoint Of
Whispers
By
Lonnae O'Neal Parker, Washington Post Staff Writer, Sunday, June 27,
2004; Page D01
The revolution has covered many of their basic needs, but what about the deep-seated needs of young educated Cubans to get beyond the basics?
This is the challenge of their times, says 51-year-old Cuban filmmaker Gloria Rolando. In 2000 she made a film about the Cuban army's 1912 massacre of 6,000 blacks in southern Cuba who were demanding an end to policies of racial discrimination. Rolando, who was 7 when Castro came to power, says Cuban families and communities must remember how the society treated poor people and people of color before the revolution. That even if things are bad now, they used to be worse. When her grandmother was young, Rolando says, blacks were forced to walk around their local park; only whites were allowed to walk through.
As for shortages: "The young generation wants material things -- 'I want this, I want that,' " she says. "My mother is 77 and she is now inside the university for older people. I don't have the latest fashions in clothes or shoes, but I have the example of my mother and she continues struggling and learning."
www.granma.cu/ingles/2004/julio/mier14/chorus-i.html
Gloria met at the end of May with African American columnists from the Trotter Group, who were visiting Cuba. She is featured in several of their columns:
Castro
or not, Cuba would have had a revolution in race relations 5/30/02 Louisville
Courier Journal: While the title may be a little optimistic, as anyone who
has visited Miami knows, the columnist's heart is in the right place:
"Indeed, a highlight of the Trotter Group's week-long visit to Cuba, my
second trip to Cuba with the columnists' group, was meeting Cuban filmmaker
Gloria Rolando. What an amazing personality. Rolando was forthcoming enough to
say that Castro's 43 years in power haven't succeeded in bleaching negative
color-consciousness out of Cuban society. She doesn't consider race as a side
issue, as many Cubans do, but as central to her existence as a black Cuban, a
woman and an artist. One of her films, "Raices de mi corazon," tells
the story of the massacre in 1912 of more than 6,000 members of a political
party formed by black veterans of Cuban's two liberation wars against Spain in
1908. The party, Independents of Color, was a response to the marginalization of
black Cubans."
U.S.
blind to true colors of Cuba's problems 5/30/02 USA Today: "Gloria
Rolando's short film, Roots of My Heart, ought to be required viewing in the
White House. Made without the support of the government-run organization that
sanctions and finances much of this island's movie industry, her film is the
story of the massacre of more than 6,000 people on this Caribbean island, a
brutal episode that took place long before Fidel Castro came to power. But the
story that Rolando tells is the key to understanding why Castro remains hugely
popular among this island's 11 million people and why they largely mistrust
Cuban exile leaders in the United States."
Black
journalists get close-up view of Cuba 6/11/02 Final Call: "The
week included a symposium with Cuban journalists, press conferences with Ricardo
Alarcon, president of the Cuban parliament, and Ruben Remigio, president of the
Cuban Supreme Court, tours of Granma newspaper, the Cuban radio and TV institute
and a private session with Cuban filmmaker Gloria
Rolando."
| Cuban filmmaker Gloria Rolando will present her new
groundbreaking feature about the 1912 Cuban genocide when over 6,000
members of the Independents of Color, the first black political party
outside of Haiti, were massacred by the Cuban Army.
This independently produced video feature follows a present-day AfroCuban woman, Mercedes, as she begins to decipher her family secrets through a photo of her great-grandparents. Between reality and the world of her dreams, she learns about the ties this couple had with the Independents of Color. As she uncovers her family's roots she discovers revelations about the Genocide. Through her work, Rolando aims to rescue of our collective memory in the search for our roots as she contributes to the knowledge and understanding of the history of the African Diaspora in this century. Ms. Rolando will also show excerpts from a new work-in-progress. For event details, see Upcoming Events, Milwaukee Coalition to Normalize Relations with Cuba |
Word is in from Havana: historian Tomas Robaina introduced Raices at the Biblioteca Nacional. Gisela Arandia is introducing it shortly at the UNEAC and it will also be shown at the Union de Periodistas, the Reporters' Union. The buzz made its way to Cuban television and radio, which reported favorably on its release. See Roots of My Heart Premieres in Havana, 2/11, by Gloria Rolando
El Alacrán has just been re-released with English subtitles, giving us subtitles or English version on all of Gloria's movies except for Raices. Gloria is prepared to give an introduction in English to Raices and also lead a discussion in English afterwards. In addition, we will shortly have an extensive summary of the film in English for distribution before the tour.
Gloria is now at work on a new film, Historias de mis abuelos, another independent production deals with the black organizations in Cuba that pre-date 1959 and have their roots in the 19th century. She will be promoting this project in her Spring 2001 tour.
| by HASEENAH EBRAHIM The Western Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 22, 1998 Abstract |
| "As you may know I was very impressed with Gloria Rolando as an
Afro-Cuban female filmmaker. I feel fortunate to have been able to interview her on my
radio program, "In Unison," while she was in Boston, Massachusetts. The quality
and technical level of her films is excellent, I have seen "The Eyes of the Rainbow
and "Oggun" and when it is considered how difficult conditions are in Cuba due
to the economic embargo imposed by this country, the United States of America, one cannot
help but give her and her production crew a standing ovation for persevering under such
duress. Ms. Rolando has taken a compelling subject, Assata Shakur, and presented her in a very human light that incorporates her spirit to live in an inter-generational fashion. She has blended past, present, and future to give us an unique view into the present day circumstances of a controversial figure. Gloria Rolando's expertise can be felt in the way she blended images of nature and culture into her description of Assata Shakur. As Ms. Rolando tours the United States with her film I hope that anyone that reads these comments and is not yet convinced that they need to change their schedules, bring their friends and see this new work of Ms. Rolando and her production crew realizes that they are wrong....and yes they do need to see..."The Eyes of the Rainbow," not once but again, again, and again. Thank you Gloria and Assata Shakur." -- Nina LaNegra, host, "Say It Loud," WILD radio, Boston, currently at BlackTalk Radio, www.realblacktalk.com |
| Adventure Divas - Cuba: Paradox Found Holly Morris tours Cuba and spotlights several people, including rap group Instinto, filmmaker Gloria Rolando and former Black Panther Assata Shakur. Parental guidance rating: TVPG See www.adventuredivas.com for more info. |
When in Cuba, Gloria Rolando can be reached at home by phone at tel: 011 53 7 867.69.36 and by mail at:
Obispo #356, 3ra piso, apto 3
Entre Habana y Compostela
Habana, Cuba 10100
Help support Gloria's work! The Individual price is for home viewing. The price for Institutions is for viewing at a school, university, cultural center, or other institutional location. Special arrangements need to be made in order to offer these films to the general public. To order, use the PayPal buttons below or follow instructions below for other modes of payments. With PayPal, you can use your Visa, Master Card, Discovery, or American Express card without registering at PayPal or letting us know your card number.
| Title | Individuals - Home Viewing | Educational Institutions, Cultural Centers | |
| Oggun: available with English subtitles. Staring singer Lazaro Ros. 52 min. US only. | |||
| My Footsteps in Baragua: available with subtitles (mixed English and Spanish, with subtitles). Deals with the English speaking Caribbean community in Cuba. 53 min. US only. | |||
| Los Marqueses de Atarés: available without subtitles (in Spanish). Great carnival scenes. 46 min. US only. | |||
| El Alacrán The Scorpion: available with English subtitles, priced at $15 for individuals and $100 for institutions. Carnival Comparsa. 19 min. US only. | |||
| Raices de mi Corazon - Roots of My Heart: available with English subtitles. Deals with the 1912 Massacre. 51 min. Worldwide. | |||
| Cherished Island Memories - A History of Cubans and Cayman Islanders: in English and Spanish, with subtitles, English speaking Cayman community on the Isle of Youth, 38 minutes. Pasajes del Corazón y la Memoria. Worldwide. |
Nosotros y el
Jazz has not been commercially released, no copies
are available.
Eyes of the Rainbow has been released through happybirthdayassata.org
To order - either use our PayPal shopping cart above or:
| $15 | $0.94 | |
| $25 | $1.56 | |
| 1 DVD | $3.60 |
| 2 DVDs or 1 VHS | $7.20 |
| 3 DVDs | $8.65 |
| 4 DVDs or 2 VHS | $10.10 |
| 5 DVDs | $11.55 |
If you want to
ship via Express Mail
International, email us at AWG_AT_afrocubaweb.com [replace _AT_ with @]
for a
quote. Prices start at
about $25.
Note that foreign orders need to be paid in US dollars.
US law (Berman Amendment) allows for the import of music, films, books, paintings, and sculptures from
Cuba, virtually the only legal avenue for financial transactions and for expressing
support for folks down there.
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