A life-long dedication – Movie Review: Havana Divas

I was not prepared for entertaining elements when I chose the film “Havana Divas”, knowing that it was a documentary. I found the Chinese name “古巴花旦” very inviting, though. The movie turned out to be very enjoyable for its own sake.

It is about two Cuban ladies, now in their late eighties, who have been singing Yueju (Cantonese opera songs) since childhood, first as a means of livelihood and later for their interest. Brought up in poverty, Caridad Amaran(何秋蘭) and Georgina Wong Guitarrez(黃美玉) enjoyed little material comfort, and Yueju probably gave them satisfaction which they would have been deprived of otherwise. Their efforts are appreciable, considering their Cuban ancestral origin; they had to struggle with practically every single Chinese character to master the lyrics. 

The film includes quite a few still photos carefully selected from the two ladies’ collections. While depicting their growth, they also cast light on the historical development of Cuba with glimpses of the political turmoil following the seizure of power by the Communists resulting in a closed-door policy for decades. It is fun watching old-fashioned cars still moving on the roads, and cracked walls and broken road surfaces are a common sight. However, the locals look happy and contented with their austere lifestyle, often smiling gleefully into the director’s camera. Caridad(秋蘭) talked about once sleeping in the street without sounding whiny while Georgina (美玉) happily shared about her encounter with the young Fidel Castro  (卡斯特羅) on his visit to her school. 

There are also pictures of well known Cantonese opera actors and actresses of the past generations. Some, still healthy and cheerful despite their old age, chat happily about their stage performances back in those days. It is surprising how they survived the Great Depression by acting nonstop day and night to keep themselves in employment during the post-war era. The songs accompanying the pictures or short video clips are reminiscent of the time when Yueju was all the rage in those days.

The film is known to have been shown in a number of places previously with the post-screening appearance of the two ladies on a few occasions. Seeing the two old ladies greeted with a standing ovation each time, I was moved to tears. Those were tears of joy and appreciation. Indeed, their life-long dedication to Yueju is worth our great admiration and has inspired us with a life lesson about striving hard to achieve a goal.