De bateyes

In this short documentary, Cuban filmmaker Sara Gómez explores the history of bateyes, simple workers’ settlements surrounding sugarcane mills on the islands. Shots of bateyes and their ruins alternate with interviews with former workers. In painting a picture of daily life on the plantations, their testimonies reveal a rich oral tradition.

We also hear from the poet Pablo Armando Hernandez, who himself grew up in a batey. His story draws a parallel between the living conditions of workers on Cuban plantations and those of Afro-Americans in the United States—both groups are mostly descended from enslaved Africans.

De bateyes is suffused with Gómez’s revolutionary socialist ideals. She makes it clear early on that her documentary is all about the sugarcane cutters and their emotional and cultural world, and not her own perspective. So it is their words, stories, and poetic myths that form the thread running through this nearly forgotten film.

De bateyes was digitally restored by Vulnerable Media Lab as part of the Sara Gómez project.