Understanding the history of Cuba; reflections on documentary Cuba In A Bottle

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“To understand the history of Rum is to understand the history of Cuba itself.”

Every island in the West Indies claims to have the best rum, and there is reason for that. There is something about that optimum climate for sugar cane cultivation, and the abundance of fertile, well-watered, arable land that allows people all over the world to enjoy the sweet taste of rum, that is distinguishable depending on the island that it comes from. I was introduced to a documentary that provided me with some in-depth knowledge about the history of rum in Cuba, and why this spirit has become more than just an after work drink for the natives who live on the island.

Cuba In A Bottle is a four-part series directed and produced by Ben Holman and Charlie Inman, written by Charlie Inman, Ben Holman, and Dave Broom. The series was released on YouTube on September 16^th, 2019, and we follow the two directors as they dive into Cuban culture and history to explore how one incredibly misunderstood island, and the drink it produces has had such a profound influence on the way the modern world thinks, sounds and moves.

“With “Cuba In A Bottle”, we were given the chance to get back to Cuba and dig even deeper, into the past, present and into the future. We always knew rum was important to Cuba, but we could never have imagined quite how intertwined their stories are.”

 Ben and Charlie

The success of this documentary is due to the collaboration of three artists who wanted to share what they had learned about Cuba on the big screen. Award-winning Director Ben Holman has divided the last 15 years between Rio De Janeiro and London, directing everything from commercials to feature docs. His recent film “The Good Fight” also won a number of awards including Best Documentary Short at the Tribeca Film Festival 2017.

Charlie Inman’s humble beginnings were as a musician, but soon found he preferred travelling the world poking around in people’s lives with a camera. He spent his twenties directing factual television shows and the last decade working in advertising, making everything from commercials to feature docs at the agency of the decade Mother London.

They both share a love of music, of Latin America and emotive storytelling and have worked together on a number of projects over the years, including “Rumba: La Clave”, which was an exploration of the roots of Cuban music, an award-winning campaign for IKEA and a feature-length music documentary with Gilles Peterson in Brazil called “Brasil Bam Bam Bam”: the story of Sonzeira.

For this documentary, they joined forces with writer Dave Broom who spent his whole working life in the world of drink, before finally, in 1995, becoming a writer specialising in spirits. He has written 12 books, two: ‘Drink: Never Mind the Peanuts’ and ‘Rum’ won the Glenfiddich award. His Whisky: The Manual was awarded Best Spirits Book at the Spirited Awards in 2015 and the ‘World Atlas of Whisky’ has been called “a landmark publication.” The story is told through interviews with Cuban legends from the world of music, sport, and film and is accompanied with secret information from Cuban rum experts, master blenders and spiritual guides.

Together, the three brought to life the history of Cuba and the importance of rum to their culture. The four parts explore how sugar cane was brought to Cuba, and how reliant the islands economy became on the production of sugar. I was introduced to: the connection between rum and Santería, a Lucumí religion practiced by the Yoruba tribes of modern-day Benin and Nigeria, the rise and fall of the Batista government, and the corruption that ensued, which gave context to Fidel Castro’s revolutionary rise to presidency, and the 1961 embargo placed on Cuba by President Kennedy.

One thing that cannot be denied is the rich history that exists in the West Indies, and Cuba In A Bottle is a great way to show our younger generation the history of an island that is sometimes ignored, but refuses to be forgotten.