Rum & Revolution – History of Havana (2024)

Plot

In the 1950s, Havana emerges as a dazzling hub of entertainment, bustling with lively music, extravagant casinos, and dazzling cabarets. Yet, this glamorous façade masks a darker reality, where the American mafia rules and stark poverty afflicts the majority of the population. U.S. visitors flock to the city, seeking refuge from the constraints of Prohibition, while cultural icons like Ernest Hemingway, Frank Sinatra, and Ava Gardner enjoy the vibrant nightlife at renowned venues like the Hotel Nacional and the Tropicana. However, the undercurrents of corruption and repression under dictator Fulgencio Batista, who collaborates with the mafia to create a "Caribbean Las Vegas," ignite resentment among the Cuban people. This escalating discontent sets the stage for Fidel Castro and his revolutionary forces, who on January 8, 1959, make a historic entrance into Havana, marking the end of American influence on the island.