Miami Dade College (MDC) has announced the launch of the Cuban Cinema Series, presented by the Miami Film Festival!

The Series will feature presentations of six emblematic Cuban films at the newly renovated, state-of-the-art theater at MDC’s Koubek Center, in the heart of Little Havana. Admission is free for all films in the series. 

Founded and directed by renown film critic and author Alejandro Ríos, who originated the Series in 1993, featuring filmmakers, special guests, free valet, live music, and refreshments available for purchase. 

The Series is sponsored by ArtesMiami. Here are some words from both the President and the Chair:

“ArtesMiami is proud to partner with the Miami Film Festival as cinema is an important art form mirroring our lives. Through film we see stories that resonate with our own lives.”
– Maria Bechily, Chair of ArtesMiami, Inc.

“Becoming the Producing Sponsor of the Spotlight on Cuba films at the Miami Film Festival and of the Cuban Cinema Series is a great source of pride for us at. ArtesMiami. We are committed to supporting Hispanic artists, including filmmakers, and to promoting great cultural organizations such as the Miami Film Festival so this partnership with Miami Dade College is especially meaningful for our nonprofit organization.”
– Aida Levitan, PhD, President of ArtesMiami, Inc.

Upcoming Films:

Al Bárbaro del Ritmo
Directed by Sergio Giral
Friday, August 23, 2024 7:00 PM EDT
Miami Dade College Koubek Memorial Center
Final Screening of the Season!

Tropicana All Stars Orchestra and Latin Music offer a tribute to Benny More, an icon of Cuban music. This documentary by Sergio Giral tells the creation of Tropicana All Star, a Latin Music orchestra based in Miami, and a concert performed by it, to honor Benny More. Stock footage and interviews with the most outstanding celebrities of Cuban and Latin music, bring a trip to the roots of Cuban music and portray the unique talent of Benny More.

With the participation of Celia Cruz, Olga Guillot, Willy Chirino, Bebo Valdés, Juanito Márquez, Marco Antonio Muñiz, Israel Kantor, Cachao and Paquito D’Rivera, among others.

Benny Moré (Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré Gutiérrez, 24 August 1919 – 19 February 1963), or Beny, was a Cuban singer. He is often thought of as the greatest Cuban popular singer of all time. He was gifted with an innate musicality and fluid tenor voice which he colored and phrases with great expressivity. Moré was a master of most genres of Cuban music, such as the son montuno, mambo, guaracha, and bolero. In particular, it is unusual for a singer to be equally proficient at both the fast rhythms (e.g. guaracha) and the slower rhythms, such as the bolero. Moré also formed and led the leading Cuban big band of the 1950s, until his death in 1963.