I found this movie to be typical of each of the movies that we have seen thus far in this class. There is an unrequited love between Yoyita and Candido. After fifty years they still have passion for each other, people in the spanish culture must have long memories or they love so deeply and passionately in such a short time that it is difficult to forget. Yoyita unfortunately dies and her niece Georgina, her husband Adolfo transport her body back to Havana. Adolfo is the domineering male figure we have encountered in most of the other Spanish films. He likes to think he is smart and can dictate what Georgina wears and lets her know how she can behave. Georgina is the subservient female in the movie, content at the beginning to go along with what Adolfo wants. Mariano is the typical macho playboy in the movie. He has many different girlfriends in almost every town they come to but yet he still wants Georgina.
The aspects of the culture that I found most interesting was that they used U.S. dollars to make their purchases. Perhaps because at the time Cuba's economy was not as stable. Street vendors hawking their wares. The poverty all around as evidenced by the houses with dirt floors, the dirt highways, rationing, seems to be a normal situation for many spanish speaking cultures. Even in poverty people seem to be happy, dancing, smoking, drinking, and in general living life to the fullest. Hot climate cultures definately seem to be the more fun loving, exciting, and lively. Love of family also seems to be a reoccurent theme. In all honesty Georgina, Adolfo, and Candido could have just buried Yoyita where she died or hired someone else to transport her body to Havana.
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It definetly would have been easier to have buried Yoyita where she died, but I think it helped to show the amount of love and respect that Gina and Caudido had for her that they would make this journey cross country to lay her to rest where she wanted. I am not really sure, but the cemetary seemed very nice, and quite crowded so I assumed that she had already purchased her plot and had planned to be buried there. I agree that that must be some kind of love that would make someone hold on for fifty years! Most people would move on, even Mariano who obviously fell for Gina at school had other girls and was not particularly looking for her when he first laid eyes on her after all that time. But once she did catch his eye the chase was on! I had forgotten about most of the vendors only taking US dollars, that was rather odd. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteyou are so right that the theme has been the same in almost all of the movies that we have seen so far. The wife is subserviant, the men are macho and the family environment is most important to them. i had also fogotten that they were paying for everything with us dollars. The fact that Georgina was experiencing the same thing that her Aunt had with lost love, but acted on it because of what she knew her aunt had lost out on was amazing.
ReplyDeleteThe poverty that they experience is so surreal, but you are right they always seem to be having a good time and not dwelling on it. I guess it goes to show just how spoiled we all are, we get bent out of shape if our stocks do not do well for a day or two. How would we like it if we had the rationing, the dirt floors and dirt highways?
Our culture probably has a lot to learn from the people of Cuba. We seem to dwell on materialistic ideas and do not understand that we have more than that, we have each other.
ReplyDeleteWe also worry and fret over things that are not important. When are we going to get it that it is not important to be wealthy and have everything. As nurses, we see that what really is important is the love of our family and our health.
Why is it not our countries goal to have healthcare for all??? Why are we so concerned that we as people are entitled by race, creed and social status to have more than others?
Just a thought.........
I agree with your post about how love of family has been a recurrent theme in the movies we have watched. Gina loved her aunt very dearly, as did her long lost love of over 50 years Candido. Gina wants to honor her aunt's wishes by transporting her body to Havana, where she wished to be buried. My mother's side of the family is very close and talks very often, whereas my father's side is very distant and do not see each other very often. I don't know why this is, but throughout every movie we have screened family has been so important to the Hispanic culture, that I wish my family was the same. I love family get togethers and parties, and I would love for my whole family to be as close as the Hispanic culture protrays.
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