ON the face of it, Havana, with its colourful facades, vintage cars, revolutionary iconography and tropical climate, might seem a world away from Glasgow.
But for one Havana native, the strength of the ties that bond residents of Cuba and Scotland’s biggest cities came as a pleasant surprise.
Cuban screenwriter and actor Hugo Rivalta is the co-director of The Havana Glasgow Film Festival, which celebrates its eighth edition next month with screenings across the city.
Having possessed a prior knowledge of Scotland that was limited to the works of Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson “and of course whisky and Braveheart”, he feels the festival and the many trips to Glasgow as a result has helped him to understand the Glaswegian “soul” and how closely aligned it is to the Cuban ‘alma’.
He told our sister title The Herald: “I was impacted by the fact that people from Havana and Glasgow actually have so many things in common.
“Havana may be all sun and warm temperatures and Glasgow the opposite, but there is something very significant to be found within the character of both Scots and Glaswegians which connects immediately to the character of Cubans.
“We both like fighting our corners, we don’t like biting our tongues, we like to express ourselves, we like to have fun and we are not bothered to be the centre of attention, we enjoy that, and we are also very friendly, which is what unites us most.
“My relationship with the many Glaswegians I have gotten to know is special, they invite me into to their homes and I have received some of them in Havana. It is wonderful.”
This year’s festival, which will focus on the work of Black Cuban filmmakers, in particular Black female directors, is of special significance in taking place amid the 20th anniversary celebrations of Glasgow and Havana being twinned.
For Mr Rivalta, the chance to be able continue strengthening the cultural ties that exist between the two cities two decades after they were first twinned
is one he relishes.
He added: “The festival fills me with pride because it was one that myself and co-director Eirene Houston created after many years working together on different projects.
“We realised that something important was needed that would link Havana and Glasgow and we came up with the idea for the festival. As we approach the eighth edition of the festival, this year will no doubt be extra special due to the 20th anniversary of the twinning of Havana and Glasgow. So we want this year’s festival to be memorable.”
Amid continued tensions and waves of protests that have shaken his native Cuba, Mr Rivalta hopes that the festival will help demonstrate to audiences in Glasgow that, despite the issues facing the island, culture is and continues to thrive.
He said: “The important thing with the festival is to show the reality of
life in Cuban, to show the real Cuba in Glasgow.
“It is very important with an event of this nature that both Cuban culture and all the rich artistic and cultural work taking place in Cuba stands out.
“We are also keen to emphasise that, despite the difficult conditions in our country and the 60-year long US blockade by the US government, culture is still alive in Cuba through its cinema, literature and dance.
Having started life in Glasgow as a festival attended “mostly by friends
and people who had met us” admits Mr Rivalta, a determination to bring more Cuban film-makers and actors to the city to showcase their work, while expanding the festival to also focus on music and other art forms, has paid off dividends, with the festival not only growing its public but being taken on the road outside Scotland’s biggest city.
He added: “For me the festival is no longer attended just by people who already knew a lot about Cuba and Cuban culture, nowadays it is attended by people who know little about Cuba who have been able to learn more about the island through the festival and have attend years after year.
“We have taken the festival on the road to Cromarty, Oban and Dunoon and and it has been very well received in these places. Hopefully, if we find more funding in the future we can prepare more trips around Scotland, transporting more Cuban culture as we go.”
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