BIG CUBA 2025
28.08. 19:30
Grand Opening with
Roberto Blanco Live in Concert
FILMS, MUSIC, DANCE, LITERATURE
El Festival de Cine CUBANO y más
Big Cuba II | August 28 – September 3
In this second edition of Big Cuba at Babylon, we present a vibrant combination of classics and recent productions from Cuban cinema.
This year, we focus on showcasing the best of Cuban comedy with iconic titles such as Las doce sillas, *La muerte de un Burócrata, and Las aventuras de Juan Quinquín.
We will hold a special screening of the documentary *Para Vivir – The Implacable Times of Pablo Milanés* (2025), marking its German premiere. The film centers on the life and legacy of this fundamental Ibero-American singer-songwriter, capturing his final moments and his last concert in Cuba, surrounded by his children and key figures from Cuban culture. We are honored to welcome his adopted son, Fabien Pisani, director of the documentary, who will also present his film *En la caliente – Tales of a Reggaeton Warrior* (2024), a recent winner of several international awards.
Among the highlighted films is Crónicas de un absurdo (2024) by Miguel Coyula, which documents the challenges during the shooting of Corazón Azul and portrays his disorientation facing daily reality as a creator. Coyula once again surprises us with experimental and provocative narrative forms. The film has received several awards at international festivals.
One of the most anticipated segments is Molina Unleashed: Marx Meets the Rolling Stones with Sex, a unique showcase of four films by the irreverent Jorge Molina—the best-known cult director in Cuban cinema but still little known to the general public. His cinema, charged with eroticism, provocation, and transgression, will be screened for the first time in this format outside Cuba.
We will also feature the documentary *Los nuevos alemanes – Die Kunst anzukommen* (2025), a profound reflection on Latin American artists in Germany, featuring the iconic Roberto Blanco. The film pays tribute to the recently deceased Germán Meneses, the first and only Latin American parliamentarian in the Bundestag, and focuses on Luis Meneses, a Latin underground cultural promoter in Berlin.
Another special screening will present Reembarque (2014), about the deportation of Haitians in Cuba, mainly in the eastern part of the island, directed by the renowned Gloria Rolando; alongside the documentary *Temperamento* (2010), about the band led by Roberto Fonseca, directed by acclaimed filmmaker and (my) professor Jorge Fuentes.
Also featured is the documentary 6 Cuban Women Artists from NY (2024), showcasing the legacy of six Cuban women who have built remarkable careers in the New York metropolitan area, despite many struggles along the way, including Tania León, Gladys Triana, Juana Zayas, Olga Merediz, Aydmara Cabrera, and Maya Islas.
Once again, we will be joined by our great friend Luis Couso, Swedish senior chess champion (2017), who will offer a simultaneous exhibition against 21 boards—a unique experience for lovers of the science of the game.
Additionally, we will enjoy a rumba workshop and photographic exhibitions about Cuba and the Cuban community in Berlin, especially highlighting the Cuban heritage of Roberto Blanco.
As the grand finale, we open this already unforgettable second edition of Big Cuba at Babylon with a great inaugural concert by the legendary Roberto Blanco, who will proudly celebrate his Cuban heritage in an unforgettable evening.
Ricardo Bacallao
Director of Big Cuba II