Yearning for Hip-Hop unburdened with bling and slick over-production?
Follow Mikki, Magyori, and Soandry of el Cartel, a collective of Hip-Hop artists who operate outside
of Cuba's government-controlled music industry. These three friends are not just consuming Hip-Hop, but
harnessing its power to relay their own raw messages of experience, emotion, and revolution.
Magyori supports her Hip-Hop aspirations by selling anything, and everything,
on the streets of Havana, sometimes eventhe clothes off her back. Mikki makes ends meet with the help
of his grandfather. Soandry longs to see his older brother who fled Cuba for the United States a decade
earlier. Welcome to East of Havana, where the struggle to find the perfect rhyme is eclipsed only by
the struggle to get by. As Hurricane Charley looms, threatening the upcoming annual Hip-Hop festival
which brings rare international attention to the country's burgeoning talent, Mikki, Magyori, and Soandry
reflect on the meaning of Hip-Hop in their personal and political lives.
First time Cuban-American filmmakers Jauretsi Saizarbitoria & Emilia Menocal find
a delicate balance elusive to so many seeking to capture and relay the Cuban experience; they succeed
in illuminating the country's natural beauty without glorifying it, and addressing the sociopolitical
plight of Cuba's youth without patronizing.
Directors: Juan Carlos Saizarbitoria, Emilia Menocal Producer: Charlize Theron Run Time:82 minutes www.eastofhavana.com
