Cuba: an African odyssey

Directed by Jihan El Tahri

Che Guevara in Africa.

300,000 Cubans fighting amongst african revolutionaries, from Congo to Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, and Angola between 1965 and 1991.

The priceless contribution of the Cuban doctors, who set an example for the future. 

The geopolitical issues of the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, and the liberation of Nelson Mandela.

This documentary explores a widely unknown area of the relations between Cuba and Africa, in the struggle for Independence. 

The Cuban put a lot of military forces in this actions, but where their real strength reside is that contrary to the Western rulers, they were able to appreciate what could be done with the resources that were always available locally, and to develop these resources in a rational way, working alongside the African revolutionaries rather than trying to impose themselves onto them.

It also gives credit to Jorge Risquet, formidable master of negotiation, and a plethora of other legends.

Only deception is the relations between Castro and Mandela, which I hoped they would elaborate more on, as I saw a picture of Mandela in guerilla outfit in his Museum house of Soweto.