{"id":35154,"date":"2014-09-21T10:14:03","date_gmt":"2014-09-21T14:14:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oncubamagazine.com\/?p=35154"},"modified":"2014-09-21T10:14:03","modified_gmt":"2014-09-21T14:14:03","slug":"choir-of-silence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/culture\/cinema\/choir-of-silence\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Choir of Silence\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
This afternoon in San Juan of Puerto Rico -as it could not be any other way – it is very, very hot… Roberto Rodr\u00edguez D\u00edaz and I meet in one of the cafes of Old San Juan that he tends to frequent every day with the same discipline and consistency that intellectuals and artists have for these spaces that are, in reality, a work place to talk, where discussions take place, and projects are born and developed.<\/p>\n
The reason for the meeting is his film-documentary \u2018Choir of Silence\u2019, of which he is Director and Executive Producer, and made him the first Cuban exile Director to participate in a film festival in Cuba, the \u201cFestival of the New Latin American Cinema of Havana\u201d 2013.<\/p>\n
Yet the script of this film began to be written many years ago, more precisely, in 1961, when Robert, merely an 11-year-old boy, was sent by his parents to the United States as part of Operation Pedro Pan.<\/p>\n
Your film-the documentary Choir of Silence- didn\u2019t only you make you the first Cuban exile to participate in a film festival in Cuba, but also was also exhibited at the Havana Film Festival New York (April 2014) and the Film Festival San Juan Puerto Rico (2013). Can you talk about those experiences and how did you live each? <\/strong><\/p>\n
Coincidentally I have lived in these three places, but of course, exhibiting the film in Cuba was the most important to me, because it is my country and where the history of the film starts, although it was also a great pleasure to show it in New York and here in Puerto Rico because I lived 13 years in the “Big Apple” and have spent the same amount of years in Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n
Did you notice different audience reactions to the film in each of these cities? <\/strong><\/p>\n
No, in every place where it was exhibited the reaction was the same, well, maybe in Havana was something different because everyone already knew the history of documentary, while in San Juan and New York many viewers confessed to see after watching it, that they had no idea of the dark and negative aspects of Operation Pedro Pan.<\/p>\n
It is my understanding you had the collaboration of Yoesvel Llerena Suri, a Cuban living in Hungary. How did you meet and what was his collaboration?<\/strong><\/p>\n
When I started preparing the documentary I mentioned it to a friend and he told me he knew a Cuban residing in Hungary with lots of experience in films and that he was sure would be interested in my project, and as my greatest desire was to have as many Cubans as possible in the project, I contacted him and he did not hesitate to join me. And really Yoesvel was an invaluable help. We work all over the Internet, he from Budapest and from the different places where the shooting was taking place.<\/p>\n
I also find it very important to mention the Cuban singer Richard D’Cabrera because he was the one who composed the soundtrack Salva Vida. When he came to Puerto Rico, he had read my book, and when I heard that part of the lyrics that goes: As a bird of passage I get back to you traveling in time, I knew immediately that this was the right song. For two weeks we continued to work together until finally we recorded it at a local studio.<\/p>\n
And at this point I have to mention also my acknowledgement to the artist Michel Mirabal who gave me his painting Identidad to make it the book cover and poster for the documentary.<\/p>\n
Originally you wrote the book called Choir of Silence, how and why comes the idea of turning it into a documentary?<\/strong><\/p>\n
I originally traveled to Cuba for the sole purpose of seeing my country, visit the house where I was born, to revisit the school, walking the streets of my childhood, and all the emotions and feelings of that trip led me to feel and have the conviction that I should write the story of my experiences and that of other children who participated in the Pedro Pan program. The book was born out of the shudder, of seeing again, of stepping on the land of my birth. Travelling from Havana to Santiago de Cuba, visiting El Cobre, seeing again neighbors, making new friends … I went back to Miami with the history of the entire book in my head and when it finally came off the press, those who read me started to say I should do a movie.<\/p>\n
Can you tell us about your particular experience and that of other children of Pedro Pan program you had to live with and who you made contact afterwards?<\/strong><\/p>\n
At first no one wanted to talk, because of different traumatic experiences they had suffered, so I decided to take the first step and tell my story. Then the book came out and later the film, other “Peter Pan” has been encouraged to talk. Now more people are beginning to tell their stories that in many cases were even worse than mine.<\/p>\n
The worst of all is to think that there was no need to go to orphanages, reformatories or fall into homes of people who abused us in many ways. The people should be aware that there was mental, sexual and physical abuse, and the same priests told us that if we spoke they would send back to Cuba and our families would be ashamed. I understand that was the biggest problem of Operation Pedro Pan, and while it is true that not all priests behaved that way, most did.<\/p>\n
You understand that the United States led Cuban families to believe that if they were to stay in the country state would take away their children?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Somebody printed a false law that was passing on surreptitiously, secretly, from one family to another (which gave it a greater chance of actually), that false law said that the government would take away parental rights, and when that piece of news was spread, many parents, like mine, decided to send their children to the United States.<\/p>\n
After seeing a documentary I had the impression that Cuban families ended up delivering their children to pedophile priests and \/ or unscrupulous people. Of course it was not in all cases, but who you know are the main culprits that so many children were sent away from their families? <\/strong><\/p>\n
They were members of the American government who made us believe this talk of parental rights, with the complicity of the church, and exacerbated the fear (now we know how unfounded) of families.<\/p>\n
The church showed a false gentle face pretending she was reacting at the request of Cuban families, when what really happened is that the American government had mounted a huge advertising campaign in its favor, and did not care that for its political purposes, families were broken and thousands of children suffered so much. I completely blame the church, because what it did was aberrant and those who played the part were the Archdiocese of Havana and Miami.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, and in order to understand the dimensions of what happened, we must not forget that it was the largest exodus of unaccompanied minors in history, 14,048 children left Cuba (the previous was the ‘Kindertransport’ in Nazi Germany and it involved 10,000 Jewish children).<\/p>\n
To what extent the terrible experiences you went through as a \u201cPeter Pan” child have determined, in one way or another, the rest of your life?<\/strong><\/p>\n
![\"Roberto](\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/foto-1-Roberto-Rodriguez-op1.jpg\")
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