Cuba Skateboard Documentary

Ostensibly a film about skateboarding in Cuba, Viva Patinar uses the Cuban skate scene as a vehicle to examine the attitudes and feelings that Cuban youth have towards their country.

The 12-minute film profiles two Cuban skaters with a wide variety of views. Miguel is an 18-year-old who recently dropped out of high school to skate full time. He feels that there is no future for youth in Cuba and wants to go to school in the United States. Roberto, on the other hand, has made a future for himself in Cuba. After filming skate videos of his friends on a second hand camera, the 20-year-old managed to get a job as an editor for a Cuban TV station.

Guiding us through these two adolescents' stories is Cuban skateboarding pioneer Che Pando. The 39-year-old runs a black market tattoo parlor in Havana and acts as a mentor to younger skaters. For him, skateboarding has made life bearable during Cuba's rough times, stating, "Skateboarding is freedom. It's the freedom to do what the fuck you want, when you want it, in a country where no one can do that."