Habana Blues

Ruy and Tito are two friends with a band in Havana. Finding a place to rehearse, finding equipment, finding electricity takes up most of their days. A Spanish record company hears them and offers a contract. The terms are heavy, and if they sign they will have to leave the country. Ruy has a wife and two children; nobody is waiting for Tito. The two of them do not look at the same offer the same way. Benito Zambrano shot the film in Cuba and took the music from bands actually there; rock, rap, funk and traditional Cuban music are heard at once. The telling neither defends the regime nor offers emigration as a rescue: those who leave and those who stay both lose something. The film's best scenes take place on stage. The production stood out for its music at the Goya awards in Spain and was shown widely outside Cuba.