Los subterráneos
by Yixuan Li
This text draws principally upon the research conducted by Archivistas Salvajes, as well as Lucía Malandro’s symposium proposal. I am deeply grateful for their invaluable contributions.
For Orphans 2024, Cuban independent collective Archivistas Salvajes present two films, Nace una plaza (1988) and Parrandas de Camajuaní (1988), belonging to the collection of Cuban amateur cinema the group calls “Los Subterráneos.” The term “underground” precisely reveals the continuous status of these films, as they were ignored by mainstream culture when they were born and present-day Cuban state institutions are disinterested in them.
As the main collection of Archivistas Salvajes, “Los Subterráneos” aims to preserve Cuban amateur films by tracing the network of creative cine clubs that have been operating on the island since 1927. The collective originated in 2020 after a group of young adults accidentally discovered nine 16mm film reels in a dump in the rural town of Caibarién. In 2021, two members, Lucía Malandro and Daniel Saucedo, enrolled in the film preservation graduate program at Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola (EQZE) in San Sebastián, Spain. With Josué Gómez and Fabio Quintero, they continue to rescue Cuban amateur films, managing to locate more than two hundred celluloid documents of Cuba’s history from 1950 to 1990.
While approaching their underground collection the Archivistas connected with other unofficial Cuban audiovisual institutions, gaining recognition from a wider audience. EQZE has equipped them with essential knowledge in film preservation and supported them with archival and digitization resources. Additionally, the Digital Encyclopedia of Cuban Audiovisuals (ENDAC), which illuminates the potential roles of unofficial organizations in preserving the historical memory of Cuban audiovisual institutions, has also introduced the work of this new collective.
Nace una plaza (A Square Is Born, 1988) captures the construction of the Che Guevara Mausoleum and memorial statue in Santa Clara, site of the final battle of the Cuban Revolution in late 1958. Guevara, along with Camilo Cienfuegos, led the guerrillas who took the city on December 31st. With dictator Fulgencio Batista fleeing the country less than twelve hours later, the battle is heralded as a decisive moment in the Cuban Revolution’s victory. Consequently, in 1987, Cuban officials selected Santa Clara for Guevara’s memorial and tomb – even though his body was still in an unknown location in Bolivia, where he was killed in guerrilla combat twenty years earlier.
As we learn from Lucia Maldonado, Cuban officials, uncharacteristically, commissioned amateur filmmakers Miguel Secades, president of the local Cine Club Cubanacán, and Miguel García to document the construction process. They were supported/supervised by the Revolutionary Armed Forces, as evidenced by the helicopter used for aerial shots.
The nine-minute production combines archival footage of Guevara with scenes of workers, panoramic views of the memorial, and close-ups of the giant statue. Infusing the surviving film with a sense of ambiguity is our knowledge that the soundtrack is missing. The documentary concludes with aerial shots of the finished memorial and square, in which Che towers over the surrounding buildings. This reminded me of the striking long overhead shots of the funeral procession in the 1964 Soviet co-production Soy Cuba (which I watched multiple times in the China Film Archive). However, it’s unlikely that Secades or García saw it until its rediscovery in the 1990s.
If Nace una plaza was “orphaned” by the socialist state due to its political nuances, Parrandas de Camajuaní (1988) illuminates a contrasting aspect of the topic of state censorship. This film captures the essence of Cuba’s traditional popular festivals and the people’s enjoyment of them, with a focus on their expressions of joy and embodiment of pleasure. The town of Camajuaní, like Santa Clara, lies within the province of Las Villas. This commonality in origins with Nace una Plaza adds an interesting dimension to watching and discussing these two films together.
Discussing orphan films requires an examination of the history behind their “orphanhood,” with heavy censorship in authoritarian regimes being a notable cause. The twin films to be presented by Archivistas Salvajes, along with their broader work, highlight the challenges encountered in collecting and preserving films within authoritarian states, as well as the strategies for salvage available to civil society. This discussion is crucial for understanding the importance of these efforts in protecting cultural heritage and ensuring the continuation of diverse narratives that are often suppressed.
A creative end title found on the Salvaje print of Parrandas de Camajuaní.
(Auto)biography
The Archivistas Salvajes Collective comprises four main members: Lucía Malandro (Uruguay, 1991), Daniel Saucedo (Cuba, 1994), Josué G. Gomez (Cuba, 1991), and Fabio Quintero (Cuba, 1999). They are committed to working on Los Subterráneos, the first archive of Cuban amateur cinema. This collection encompasses a diversity of films spanning fiction, documentaries, animation, and community cinema, made between the 1950s and the 1990s. To date, Archivistas Salvajes has managed to locate and rescue 250 films out of the 588 identified while consulting more than 900 sources.
@archivistas_salvajes
