TOMAs GUTIERREZ ALEA Latin American Studies David William Foster, Series Editor THECONTEMPORARYPRAXISOFTHE READERSANDWRITERSINCUBA FANTASTIC A Social HistoryofPrint Culture, Borgesand Cortazar 1830s-1990s byJulioRodrfguez-Luiz byPamelaMariaSmorkaloff TROPICAL PATHS BORGESANDTHEPOLITICSOFFORM Essayson Modem Brazilian byJoseEduardoGonzalez Literatilre VOICESOFTHESURVIVORS editedbyRandalJohnson Testimony,Mourning.and Memory THEPOSTMODERNLATINAND in Post-Dictatorship Argentina LATINOAMERICAN CULTURAL (1983-1995) NARRATIVES byLiriaEvangelista,translatedby Collected Essays and Interviews RenzoLlorente editedbyClaudiaFerman GENDERANDIDENTITY FORMATION READERSANDLABYRINTHS INCONTEMPORARYM EXICAN DetectiveFiction in Borges, LITERATURE BustosDomecq,and Eco byMarinaPerezde Mendiola byJorge HernandezMartfn (CoN)FuSINGSIGNSAND M AGICREALISM POSTMODERNPOSITIONS SocialContextand Discourse SpanishAmerican Performance, byMarfa-ElenaAngulo ExperimentalWriting,and the Critique ofPolitical Confusion RESISTINGBOUNDARIES byRobert Neustadt The SubjectofNaturalism in Brazil byEvaPaulinoBueno CHICANO/LATINO HOMOEROTIC IDENTITIES LESBIANVOICESFROM LATIN byDavidWilliamFoster AMERICA BreakingGround THEJEWISHWHITESLAVETRADE byElenaM.Martfnez AND THEUNTOLD STORYOF RAQUEL LIBERMAN THEJEWISHDIASPORA IN LATIN byNoraGlickman AMERICA New Studieson Historyand FLASH AND CRASHDAYS Literature Brazilian TheaterinthePost- edited byDavidSheininand Dictatorship Period LoisBaerBarr byDavidS.George JEWISHWRITERSOFLATINAMERICA TOMASGUTIERREZALEA A Dictionary TheDialecticsofa Filmmaker editedbyDarrell B.Lockhart byPaulA.Schroeder TOMAs GUTIERREZ ALEA THE DIALECTICS OF A FILMMAKER PAUL A. SCHROEDER I ~ ~~o~1~;n~~;up LONDONAND NEWYORK First published 2002 by Routledge Published2013 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park,Abingdon,Oxon OX144RN 711 Third Avenue, NewYork,NY 10017, USA Routledgeis an imprint ofthe Taylor&Francis Group, an informa business Copyright©2002 by Routledge All rights reserved. No part ofthis book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Library of CongressCataloging-in-Publication Data Schroeder, PaulA. Tomas GutierrezAlea :the dialecticsof atilmmaker/ PaulA.Schroeder. p.cm.-(LatinAmerican studies) ISBN 0-415-93664-0 ISBN978-0-415-93664-4(hbk) I. Gutierrez Alea, Tomas, 1928-Criticism and interpretation. I. Title. II. Latin American studies(Routledge (Firm» PN1998.3.G874S37 2002 791.43'0233'092-dc21 2001048688 ForMarfa, Illy love Thispageintentionallyleftblank Contents Acknowledgments IX Preface X Introduction XII CHAPTER I CONTEXT 1 TomasGutierrezAlea:ASketch I The ImmediateContext: ICAIC and theCuban Revolution 2 The Broad Context: New LatinAmericanCinema 5 CHAPTER 2 THE EARLYYEARS: IDEALISMAND EXPERIMENTATION 11 Storiesofthe Revolution 13 The Twelve Chairs 14 Cumbite 17 Deathofa Bureaucrat 17 CHAPTER3 MEMORIES OFUNDERDEVELOPMENT: THE DIALECTICS OF IDENTIFICATIONANDALIENATION 19 Genesis and Reception 19 Description of theFilm 24 The Viewer's Dialectic 50 Film asTragedy 59 Postmodem Postscript 65 vii viii Colltellts CHAPTER4 THESEARCHFORCUBA'S "INTRA-HISTORIA" 67 A Cuban Fight againstDemons 70 The Last Supper:Marxism Meets Christianity 78 TheSurvivors 92 CHAPTER5 UP TOA CERTAINPOINT: TURNING THE LENS ON HIMSELF 95 CHAPTER6 MELODRAMAANDTHECRISIS OF THEREVOLUTION 101 Lettersfrom the Park 108 StrawberryandChocolate: Homosexuality,Marxism- Leninism, and Exile 109 Guantanamera 124 CHAPTER7 CONCLUSIONS 129 The Intellectual 129 Religion 132 The Cuban Revolution 134 Notes 143 SelectBibliography 153 Index 171 Acknowledgments This book owes much to the work of previous scholars who have written about Alea,especially to the writings of Michael Chanan, Julianne Burton, Paulo Antonio Paranagua, Silvia Oroz, and Jose Antonio Evora. The most important source, however, has been Alea himself, through his numerous interviewsand writings. Like many books, this one began as a dissertation, and its completion would not have been possible without the constant support, encouragement, and feedback from my many friends at Stanford University: my professors Jorge Ruflinelli, Mary Louise Pratt,Claire Fox, and Michael Predmore, and my colleagues Consuelo Kenna, Jacqueline Lazii, Manel Camps, Marfa Angelica Hernandez,and the late Raquel Mendieta,among others. Iwould also like to give specialthanks to David William Foster for his enthusiasm toward this book and forhis generosity of spirit. Last but not least, my mother, Vidalina Rodriguez-Schroeder, and my sister,lise Schroeder-Garcia, gave me the kind of moral support and uncon ditional faith that are needed to finish any project of this magnitude. With their help this book turned into something more than just an intellectual undertaking.Itbecamea labor of love.