00:00:00.000 - 00:00:18.580

[no audio] [THEME MUSIC] (upbeat music) [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:00:18.580 - 00:00:56.080

[MUSIC PLAYING] [ Music ] [ Music ] [CHANTING]

00:00:56.080 - 00:01:47.100

[Chanting] [Chanting] Every year, young Cuban pioneers gather to honor the achievements of the revolution and to abuse its enemies.

00:01:47.100 - 00:02:02.980

Nearby in Havana, one of the few priests who did not flee Cuba after the revolution celebrates evening mass. Since the revolution, the relationship between church and state has been tense, often antagonistic. The church stands accused of counter-revolution.

00:02:02.980 - 00:02:13.540

But there's conflict even among Cuban Christians. Some complain of repression and discrimination, while others say that they have a unique opportunity here to put their faith into practice.

00:02:13.540 - 00:02:24.900

- I could say that as a Christian, we can be and also we have to be communists. If you read, for instance, in the Bible, the book of the Acts of the Apostles,

00:02:24.900 - 00:02:34.580

you find that primitive Christian communities were really communists. And the bottom of the question, the problem is the problem of liberty, real liberty of faith in Cuba,

00:02:34.580 - 00:02:45.620

you know? Not to be considered a second-rank citizen on account of faith. That's the truth of the problem.

00:02:45.620 - 00:02:55.060

That's a frank answer, please. [LAUGHTER] [MUSIC PLAYING] (upbeat music)

00:02:55.060 - 00:03:18.480

Carnival has always been a key event in the Cuban calendar. Nowadays, it celebrates the anniversary of the revolution. In the West, Cuba is often viewed as a typical repressive Marxist state, a satellite of Moscow.

00:03:18.480 - 00:03:37.940

(upbeat music) It's true that links with Moscow are strong, but Cuban communism has a style of its own, more South American than Eastern European. Yet in Cuba, nothing is quite what it seems.

00:03:37.940 - 00:04:03.940

[ Music ] [MUSIC] (speaking in foreign language) It's wonderful.

00:04:03.940 - 00:04:27.300

(speaking in foreign language) I thank God, because I don't know anyone who was born Cuban. Everyone thinks and acts according to their own criteria and principles. There's no restriction, like in many countries.

00:04:27.300 - 00:04:39.980

They don't think like they're brainwashed. In Cuba, that doesn't exist. We're Catholic and we're part of the revolution. [speaking Spanish]

00:04:39.980 - 00:05:11.600

Beatriz Trejo returns home after compulsory months training with the militia. Her father Raul is an official in the government law office and a prominent Catholic. The most senior government jobs are not open to Christians because they're not allowed to be party members. But Raul and his family see no contradiction between their faith and their support for

00:05:11.600 - 00:05:24.600

the revolution. Sergeant. Sergeant. Theoretically, the ideology of the communist parties does not match the religion. It is

00:05:24.600 - 00:05:44.840

argued that God does not exist. But I consider that anyone who knows God, who really feels (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language)

00:05:44.840 - 00:05:57.760

[singing in Spanish] [ Singing ] (speaking in foreign language) They are liars, they don't have principles.

00:05:57.760 - 00:06:36.080

If I have an opinion and they say no, I have to prove it. Or I have to kill myself, but I keep it that way because I see it that way. (singing in foreign language) - I think that the new man, that Fidel Castro,

00:06:36.080 - 00:06:50.760

is trying to create in our country, in Cuba, is very similar to the new man that we Christians should start to create since the beginning of Christianity. I would say it's similar, not the same.

00:06:50.760 - 00:07:00.380

Similar because to me, this communist new man is the base of the Christian new man we have to continue creating after we have communism on Earth.

00:07:00.380 - 00:07:15.180

- White communism. After the failure of our primitive communities, our churches became too rich, too powerful. These communist friends of ours have taught us

00:07:15.180 - 00:07:23.020

that they are doing the things we should have done in the past, we Christians should have done in the past. Because in a way, we betrayed the gospel,

00:07:23.020 - 00:07:37.860

being so powerful and oppressive. I can tell you that they are just helping everybody to promote themselves, to become more human, And I think and I hope that after everybody is more human,

00:07:37.860 - 00:07:50.220

we will be able to meet God and to know God. We need to promote human beings first. After we have human beings in our society, then we can think about immodulizing them,

00:07:50.220 - 00:08:09.380

trying to help them to know God by themselves. - On a Sunday morning, Raul Treto joins other members of his local Committee for the Defense of the Revolution to clean the streets.

00:08:09.380 - 00:08:25.860

These committees form vigilante patrols to prevent crime, they act as social workers, and they are the eyes and ears of the state guarding against counter-revolution, a catch-all phrase for dissent. But above all, they're presented as a testament to the revolutionary principles of equality,

00:08:25.860 - 00:08:41.580

principles which Raul Treto sees as essentially Christian. Through the revolution we started to re-read the Bible again in Cuba. Also they are doing this in many countries in Latin America. The re-read of the Bible to find out the real truth within the Bible.

00:08:41.580 - 00:09:02.120

And then we find a living God, the real Father of Jesus Christ, which has created the world for everybody, not just for the exploiters, not just for the capitalists, not just for the rich people, but for everybody. We have been Christians for more than 20 centuries, but what example have we given?

00:09:02.120 - 00:09:19.280

Religious wars in Europe, religious colonialist wars in the world, Catholics against Protestants, Protestants against Catholics. That's the example we have given, and we have to remember, even Jesus in the Gospel has said, "We are going to be known by our fruits."

00:09:19.280 - 00:09:38.280

What are the fruits we have given? exploitation, colonialism, and all these colonialist countries declare themselves to be Christians. Even American government declares to be Christian and is trying to address not only Cuba but Nicaragua and so on. What kind of Christianity can we find in these kind of actions?

00:09:38.280 - 00:09:59.280

This is not a Christian society, this is a communist society, or socialist society. But reading underneath history, we can find that more Christian values are taking over in this society. So that's why I say it's easier to live as a Christian in this kind of society, because we are helped by others, and we are helping others.

00:09:59.280 - 00:10:25.280

This kind of God is not against this revolution. This revolution is not against this God. In the center of Havana, an open-air museum houses the sacred relics of the revolution. This lorry was used in an assault on the presidential palace in 1957.

00:10:25.280 - 00:10:46.280

This Land Rover was used by Castro in the final stages of the advance on Havana. And in this car, vital supplies of ammunition were transported. [Train horn] Before the revolution, power was concentrated in the hands of the dictator, General Batista,

00:10:46.280 - 00:11:04.600

and a small corrupt elite of powerful families, many with American mafia connections. [Crowd noise] Wealth was unevenly distributed, the standard of living for the majority, low. The ingredients were here for revolution.

00:11:04.600 - 00:11:17.360

The prized relic behind glass in the museum is the Granmar, the boat on which Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and 80 others sailed from Mexico in December 1956 to start the revolution.

00:11:17.360 - 00:11:30.520

It began as a fiasco, as one of the survivors recalls. This boat was built for seven people. We were 82. We forgot to bring the supply of food.

00:11:30.520 - 00:11:47.520

We found a very strong sea, a sea that is not typical for this type of crossing, for this boat. We had to do the crossing in five days, we did it in seven, because the sea delayed us.

00:11:47.520 - 00:12:11.120

(speaking in foreign language) Batista's soldiers were waiting for them, and only 15 out of the 82 escaped. They regrouped, and led by Fidel Castro,

00:12:11.120 - 00:12:19.140

they established themselves as the basis of the fighting force which was eventually to overthrow Batista. training and discipline were rigorous,

00:12:19.140 - 00:12:28.720

and the force grew rapidly as they gained the support of the peasants in the mountains. Castro was their undisputed leader, and over the next two years,

00:12:28.720 - 00:12:45.440

his forces were increasingly successful against the demoralized and ill-disciplined army of Batista. On the first day of January, 1959, Fidel Castro made a triumphant entry into Havana.

00:12:45.440 - 00:13:06.480

Tista and many of his allies fled the island for the United States. Castro was hailed by his people as the architect of Cuban freedom. At first he spoke in terms of a socialist rather than a communist blueprint for reform, promising democracy and social justice and freedom from the dominance of US interests.

00:13:06.480 - 00:13:23.000

A wave of revolutionary fervor swept the city. American-owned casinos and brothels were stripped and burned. Over the next two years, Castro's policies moved further away from democratic socialism and closer to Soviet-style Marxism.

00:13:23.000 - 00:13:41.380

The church became increasingly concerned about its own position as Castro's ideology hardened. Many priests, especially those from Spain, fled. And of those who remained, some tried to oppose the revolution. Bishop Emilio Hernandez, now the head of the Anglican Church in Cuba, served 10 years in

00:13:41.380 - 00:14:03.040

prison for his opposition. The experience seems to have changed his views. I was a person who organized the fight against Castro in a region as big as the south east. I was the coordinator of that area and I gathered men, gathered resources, organized plans,

00:14:03.040 - 00:14:18.280

wrote propaganda against the system. And I was discovered in that action. I didn't have any evidence of guilt. I fought against my guilt, because I thought I was wrong.

00:14:18.280 - 00:14:35.280

But when I got out of prison... I started to analyze the situation in the country. I started to see new things. I realized that there were positive things.

00:14:35.280 - 00:14:54.120

For example, in Cuba... There were people who suffered because of the lack of public honesty, that is, the use of the country's money. And I realized that in the revolutionary process,

00:14:54.120 - 00:15:16.120

one of the things that was emphasized the most was honesty. The revolution has led to an improvement in the standard of living for the majority of Cubans. Some consumer goods are in short supply and many items like shoes, petrol, meat and coffee are rationed. But there's enough to eat and even some luxuries.

00:15:16.120 - 00:15:40.460

Every citizen is guaranteed employment and is considered to have an obligation to work. Education is free and the literacy rate is over 90%. Cuba has one of the best health systems in Latin America with one of the lowest rates of infant mortality. To the outsider, Cuban society is free from the more obvious repressions of the Soviet system,

00:15:40.460 - 00:15:57.340

but it's closely tied to Moscow. Almost all the trade from the Havana docks is with the Soviet bloc, which artificially supports the economy by purchasing Cuba's sugar at inflated prices. Almost all businesses in Cuba are state-owned,

00:15:57.340 - 00:16:12.980

and for the individual there are many restrictions on freedom. Above all, it's a one-party state. There is no opportunity for voicing dissent. All newspapers and broadcasting are controlled by the state.

00:16:12.980 - 00:16:45.940

(speaking in foreign language) - All classes in Cuba begin with regulation slogans honoring the forefathers of the revolution. At this teacher training college, students are taking part in a seminar on literacy.

00:16:45.940 - 00:17:20.060

[ Foreign Language ] Maritza Valdez is a member of the elite youth vanguard of the party, an honor which has to be earned by hard work and the approved attitudes. (speaking in foreign language)

00:17:20.060 - 00:17:30.060

- It's necessary. - Yes, it is. All the youth in this organization must be very materialistic. We must not be idealistic.

00:17:30.060 - 00:17:39.060

We must not participate in any religion, in Christianity, in any kind of situation like this. Because we must be educated under the scientific conception of the world,

00:17:39.060 - 00:17:49.060

about the real things. This inspired me to fight, because we have to win this and fight to be a young communist.

00:17:49.060 - 00:18:02.980

(speaking in foreign language) You have to fight for it, you have to earn it with your own sacrifice, participating in everything, being an exemplary person in all the tasks that are entrusted to you, fulfilling all these tasks.

00:18:02.980 - 00:18:45.980

[Background noise] As a committed party militant, Maritza Valdez looks to the future rather than the traditions of the past. But for her grandparents and the rest of her extended family, religious traditions are very much alive. Her grandfather, Rigoberto, is a spirit priest who claims powers of healing.

00:18:45.980 - 00:19:34.860

And his son, Homon Lee from National Service, is being groomed to take over his role. [singing] The ceremony they perform in the shrine at the back of the house is a typically Cuban blend of African tribal religion with elements of Christianity [ Music ]

00:19:34.860 - 00:20:10.700

(speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) [ Music ] I have an African power. I don't know what it is, but...

00:20:10.700 - 00:20:35.620

it comes to me, and when I see myself in the air, I don't see or feel anything. Whatever they do to me is well done. But I don't... it's a matter of spirit. As they say in the Congolese language, "embondar", which means to give. (speaking in foreign language)

00:20:35.620 - 00:21:17.300

[ Foreign Language ] (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) We have the freedom to practice our religion because we are not prevented.

00:21:17.300 - 00:21:43.300

They are not against anything, and they are not against us either. They give us permission if we have to do something, if we have to do a party, if we have to play, if we even have a permit for two or three days, whatever you request. You have to go to the hospital a month before you can apply for a permit. But you can still do it.

00:21:43.300 - 00:21:56.640

(singing in foreign language) [DRUMMING] (drums beating) (drumming and singing)

00:21:56.640 - 00:22:09.160

(drumming and singing) (drums beating) (drums beating) (singing in foreign language)

00:22:09.160 - 00:22:24.080

(singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) (drumming) [ Music ]

00:22:24.080 - 00:22:45.080

With respect to our revolution, I can tell you that it has been a total change, an incredible thing. The older people than me, lived very badly. Very badly, because we were under a government, under a very bad yoke. They were very bad.

00:22:45.080 - 00:23:00.080

And the revolution has changed many things. I'm a beneficiary because I have my studies, my job, insurance. Before, you couldn't do anything. Before, you had to have money to study.

00:23:00.080 - 00:23:10.080

Now, everyone studies for free. They give you everything. You don't have to worry about that. Everything. The revolution gives us everything for free.

00:23:10.080 - 00:23:36.800

We like to live together. Our brothers have their parents by our side, [speaking Spanish] As a militant party member, does Mari Chivales disapprove of her family's religious practices?

00:23:36.800 - 00:23:47.800

[speaking Spanish] This is a question that I think... Maybe they are wrong about me. They must have their own concepts about this.

00:23:47.800 - 00:23:58.800

I would say that if I took that path, I would take it wrong. Because I have other conceptions. Me, as a militant, as a human being, as a person. For me, that is not an exact path.

00:23:58.800 - 00:24:13.800

Because I would not get anywhere with religion or anything like that. But they think the opposite. But why discuss those things? They have their own way, but they can't be linked to us because we are two different things.

00:24:13.800 - 00:24:42.960

They are idealists and we are materialists. In religious dancing, the African gods who are being honoured are often identified with Catholic saints. (singing in foreign language) The majority of religious believers in Cuba

00:24:42.960 - 00:24:53.560

practice this blend of Christianity with African tribal traditions. There are comparatively few conventional Christians. (singing in foreign language)

00:24:53.560 - 00:25:17.600

(singing in foreign language) Near the Valdez's house is an abacua temple where some of the most secret African rituals are performed. When the slaves were brought to Cuba,

00:25:17.600 - 00:25:26.000

they were forbidden to practice their own rituals and they were forced to become Catholics. To preserve their own religion, they gave Catholic saints and ceremonies

00:25:26.000 - 00:25:40.680

a secret African significance. For the slaves, secret religious rites were a way of trying to regain control over their destinies and the tradition survives today.

00:25:40.680 - 00:26:33.420

(thunder rumbling) In many houses in Havana, the Afro-Christian shrine is given pride of place. [ Foreign Language ]

00:26:33.920 - 00:27:12.080

All kinds of objects are worshipped, even toys, as representations of the saints. [speaking in Spanish] Many Cuban Catholics see no contradiction between performing this kind of worship of worship and attending an Orthodox Mass the same day.

00:27:12.080 - 00:27:49.620

There is freedom of religious worship in Cuba, The church may not publish freely, so its power to evangelise is limited. [Music] There are complaints that zealous party members sometimes stand outside a church

00:27:49.620 - 00:28:02.820

noting down the names of the faithful. And parents wishing their children to be baptised are subject to questioning. [Music] But how deep is the discrimination?

00:28:02.820 - 00:28:15.060

One person who's in a position to know is Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, the Vicar General of Havana. We have still discriminations. There is one basic discrimination

00:28:15.060 - 00:28:31.060

for Catholic people, or believers in general, which is the participation in the party. Because to be a member of the Communist Party in Cuba, which is the only party in Cuba,

00:28:31.060 - 00:28:45.060

it is necessary to be an atheist. -Atheists? -Atheists, yes. And to have a full participation in the political life of the country, it is necessary to be a member of the party.

00:28:45.060 - 00:29:02.060

So in that way, we have basic discrimination. On a hill above Havana, a bronze Lenin watches over the city. According to Marxist-Leninist ideology, religion is the product of a distorted picture of the world.

00:29:02.060 - 00:29:27.060

Once that distortion is removed by social change, the need for religion will disappear. But the official state policy in Cuba is toleration of religious beliefs. Dr. Carneado, head of the Office of Religious Affairs, is responsible directly to Fidel Castro. He has a troubleshooting role, dealing with alleged cases of discrimination.

00:29:27.060 - 00:29:50.060

Well, certainly, in some lower levels of the government and the party, some cases of discrimination against Christians have been reported. There have been those cases of discrimination. For example, a vanguard worker who has the right to buy a motorcycle,

00:29:50.060 - 00:30:05.060

...or a galaureate, a diploma, etc., ...they are objected to at some level because they are Christians, ...or because they are believers, or because they attend the Church. That has existed.

00:30:05.060 - 00:30:26.060

The cases are less and less. And precisely, my function is to put the truth in these cases, ...to try to review these situations. and the frequent dialogue we establish with the representatives of the different churches

00:30:26.060 - 00:30:51.660

helps us to rectify these cases that may arise. In an attempt to improve relationships, the state has established camps where communists and Christians spend a fortnight working side by side. We are looking for improvement for everyone.

00:30:51.660 - 00:31:06.980

We are looking for peace. We are looking for solidarity. And they are also looking for it, in their own way. In my opinion, they have a way of seeing things differently.

00:31:06.980 - 00:31:23.180

And this way has been generated, in my opinion, a little bit by ignorance in remote times. to find an explanation for things. After that, with the development of society,

00:31:23.180 - 00:31:37.780

religion in many cases has been a way of deceiving people. And of course, everyone thinks in their own way. I can't think like them, because they believe in God. I don't believe in God.

00:31:37.780 - 00:31:46.380

Therefore, I think that my point of view is the best, and they are the best. I don't know if they are wrong or not. I think I am right.

00:31:46.380 - 00:32:20.540

[Chanting] The climax of the children's revolutionary celebrations is a visit by Raul Castro, Fidel's brother, and one of the founding fathers of the revolution. [crowd chanting]

00:32:20.540 - 00:32:33.420

- In Cuba, we don't speak very much about an intellectual dialogue between Christians and Marxists, but a practical dialogue.

00:32:33.420 - 00:32:46.140

Because in the Cuban Marxist version, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to have an intellectual dialogue between Christians and Marxists,

00:32:46.140 - 00:32:59.040

but it is possible to have a practical one in the building of the new society and working together for the people. (speaking in foreign language)

00:33:13.660 - 00:33:42.660

but aren't the goals of a Marxist society very different from those of Christians? Of course, but there are immediate goals, if you want, which are possible to be together, you know. So we think that probably some years later, if the atmosphere is clearer, it will be possible to have that intellectual dialogue and to interchange points of view

00:33:42.660 - 00:34:08.660

view about what kind of society we want to have here in Cuba and so on. But for the moment, our goal is to have that practical dialogue on very practical issues. [ Music ] I repeat, the idea that the objective of Marxism is to eliminate religion

00:34:08.660 - 00:34:25.660

is an idea that does not correspond with reality. I understand, from a personal point of view, that we will have to coexist, not only coexist, but coexist, religious, believers and non-believers.

00:34:27.660 - 00:34:47.660

These ideas, these beliefs, these conceptions cannot be eliminated administratively, nor mechanically. From the point of view of aspiration, of what Christianity has as a brotherhood,

00:34:47.660 - 00:35:16.660

as a humanity, as a respect for human dignity, We all feel Christian in that order, and I'm sure that all our ministers feel that way. [Speaking Spanish] In Castro's speech to the nation on Revolution Day, he emphasised the need for more cooperation

00:35:16.660 - 00:35:42.380

between church and state, and there's even speculation that he'll soon invite the Pope to Cuba. "Personalidad de Poqueta ahora es una hora de unidad." But why is the Church afraid to speak out against the restrictions imposed on it? It's not a problem of fear. We are not fear to anybody in Cuba. It's a problem of dignity

00:35:42.380 - 00:36:08.820

and a will not to be used by the enemies of our people during these difficult years of the the revolution, you know. And we made an option for discretion with our problems instead of speaking openly of those problems. And I repeat, not on account of fear, but on account of dignity and will not to be used by the enemy.

00:36:08.820 - 00:36:28.580

How would you be used by the enemy? What do you mean? Well, you know, if the Church speaks openly about the problems of the country, the problems of the church and the problems of the country, a lot of people, I mean, newspapers, men, governments and so on, out of the country, just say, "You see, the problem of Cuba, the

00:36:28.580 - 00:36:44.380

government is not a democratic one," and so on and so on and so on. And that's not our will, you know. We know that the situation in Cuba is not perfect, but we prefer to arrange problems by ourselves, not by people abroad.

00:36:44.380 - 00:37:08.380

But can you ever really change anything in the country if you don't speak out freely? Well, we have our ways. There are ways to do things which are not seen, which are not known, you know. We have our ways to do what we believe is important to be done, you know.

00:37:08.380 - 00:37:19.380

But to an outsider this might seem as though you've been, well, more or less taken over by the government. You're simply performing the government's will. You're an arm of the government. Well, that's a problem for the people outside.

00:37:19.380 - 00:37:30.380

That's not our problem. If they are wrong, that's their problem. It's not our problem. Our problem is to be witness of the gospel in this country,

00:37:30.380 - 00:37:41.380

in this situation, and to make our best in order to improve the situation. Not only the situation of the church, but the situation of the people.

00:37:41.380 - 00:37:58.040

There's a growing, if uneasy, alliance between church and state in Cuba. It's been carefully orchestrated by both sides. The state couldn't annihilate religious instincts, even if it wanted to. And the church is powerless to affect the state's policies.

00:37:58.040 - 00:38:22.660

So rather than fight it out, both sides have more to gain by looking for the common ground. We are very modestly helping to create a new world for everybody in the world. So that's why in a way, as a Christian, I'm very happy, because we have to create the new heaven and new world that has been promised in the Apocalypse, in the book, in the Bible.

00:38:22.660 - 00:38:38.260

We have to create a new world. We alone as Christians, we cannot do it. We have failed, but now, all together, Christians and non-Christians can do it. So all together we can create a new world, good for everybody.

00:38:38.260 - 00:38:51.120

I think that's the world God created, and we have to help him to finish the creation. (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language)

00:38:51.120 - 00:39:06.480

(singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language)

00:39:06.480 - 00:40:01.360

[MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] Indian Cancer Song [Music] [Applause]