by george matthews
Today I received a free DVD from the Observer newspaper (London) of the Wim Wenders film about the Buena Vista Social Club and their music.
This film is mainly about the musicians but includes many fascinating shots of Cuba. There is one episode shot in a railway area, possibly Havana, or possibly Cienfuegos. The most striking incident is a shot of a suburban type passenger train of a type entirely unfamiliar. I suspect that like a series of buses desgined around large lorry chasses, the train is an entirely locally designed model, suited to the severe economic conditions under US blockade. Of course for inter-city trains they have bought some European trains secondhand, but this shot shows that they have some locally designed cars.
I don't know how to excerpt video material - and in any case it is copyrighted, so all I can do is to suggest that those interested look out for the Wenders film (a well-known German film maker).
This film is mainly about the musicians but includes many fascinating shots of Cuba. There is one episode shot in a railway area, possibly Havana, or possibly Cienfuegos. The most striking incident is a shot of a suburban type passenger train of a type entirely unfamiliar. I suspect that like a series of buses desgined around large lorry chasses, the train is an entirely locally designed model, suited to the severe economic conditions under US blockade. Of course for inter-city trains they have bought some European trains secondhand, but this shot shows that they have some locally designed cars.
I don't know how to excerpt video material - and in any case it is copyrighted, so all I can do is to suggest that those interested look out for the Wenders film (a well-known German film maker).
