"Patria O Muerte: Cuba, Fatherland or Death"

This HBO documentary was watched here earlier tonight.  While it is a portrait of a land of despair, it is also somewhat invigorating.  The people are real.  Their needs are striking but their plight is somewhat endearing, and that thought is not meant to be patronizing.  They say,"We are not just any country, this is Cuba."  That suggests not only a strong sense of identity but also the severe limitations of their lives.  Cuba appears as not just a step back in time because of its cars.  The step back in time pervades everything.  In the words of one of the participants, a writer, it is a country as a mausoleum.

This film was worth every minute of the time watched, although that may not be saying much here. One could think that if life in that country gets a chance to improve, the resilient residents will thrive. They undeniably have suffered but some of what they missed may have been worth missing.