Beny More (circa 1958) Who’s this Beny More Guy Anyway?
A few years ago Andy Garcia, the Cuban-American actor, produced a movie called “The Lost City”. In it he captures the story of a Cuban family with the backdrop of the lead-up to the “Cuban Revolution of 1959”. He also captures in many ways the essence of Cuba back in the 1950’s and of our parent’s world; this was our story on the big screen. I had tears in my eyes for most of the movie; this story hurts to watch, even though we all know it all too well.
One uplifting scene in the movie is when the character played by Mr. Garcia takes a young woman to a night club to see “El Beny” perform. This was typical Cuban pride on display and also a classic Cuban technique of resorting to humor or music in the midst of tragedy and sadness. In the movie they had just had a death in the family and they were seeking refuge in the music.
A few years ago Andy Garcia, the Cuban-American actor, produced a movie called “The Lost City”. In it he captures the story of a Cuban family with the backdrop of the lead-up to the “Cuban Revolution of 1959”. He also captures in many ways the essence of Cuba back in the 1950’s and of our parent’s world; this was our story on the big screen. I had tears in my eyes for most of the movie; this story hurts to watch, even though we all know it all too well.
One uplifting scene in the movie is when the character played by Mr. Garcia takes a young woman to a night club to see “El Beny” perform. This was typical Cuban pride on display and also a classic Cuban technique of resorting to humor or music in the midst of tragedy and sadness. In the movie they had just had a death in the family and they were seeking refuge in the music.
Beny More scene from the "The Lost City" The movie was not well received by the critics in Hollywood and it was denounced by the left. Mr. Garcia had just committed a sin; he told the truth. How dare he show “Che Guevara” as a murderous revolutionary; who would kill so callously. How dare he show Cuba as a place that was prospering during the 1950’s? I recently watched the movie again and yes I had tears in my eyes. This is the first time I have watched it since it came out in 2005, and then I remembered one critic asking the question. Who’s this Beny More guy anyway?
Yes, that question was asked, by a very “knowledgeable and cultured” Hollywood movie critic. You see the argument goes something like this. If the movie is about the revolution and the 1950’s in Cuba, why put that scene about this couple going to see this Beny guy? According to the critic the scene was extraneous to the story. What this critic failed to understand is that you cannot do a story about Cuban life and culture of the 1950’s and leave Beny More out of it; now that would be a SIN!
Yes, that question was asked, by a very “knowledgeable and cultured” Hollywood movie critic. You see the argument goes something like this. If the movie is about the revolution and the 1950’s in Cuba, why put that scene about this couple going to see this Beny guy? According to the critic the scene was extraneous to the story. What this critic failed to understand is that you cannot do a story about Cuban life and culture of the 1950’s and leave Beny More out of it; now that would be a SIN!
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