Directed by Catherine Murphy
MAESTRA (2012)
MAESTRAS VOLUNTARIAS (2021)
Two films tell the courageous history of the first Volunteer Teachers in Cuba and the women who laid the groundwork for a massive National Literacy Campaign that would teach more than 707,000 Cubans how to read and write.
This 10th anniversary edition includes two films by Catherine Murphy about the National Literacy Campaign in Cuba: MAESTRA (2012) and MAESTRAS VOLUNTARIAS (2021).
In 1961, over 250,000 Cubans joined their country's National Literacy Campaign and taught more than 707,000 other Cubans to read and write. Almost half of these volunteer teachers were under eighteen years old, and more than half were women.
Narrated by Pulitzer Prize winning author Alice Walker, MAESTRA (Spanish for teacher) explores the experiences of nine of the women who, as young girls, helped eradicate Cuban illiteracy within one year. Interweaving interviews, archival footage, and campaign photos, this lively documentary includes one of the first Cubans of her generation to call herself a feminist and one of the first openly proud members of Cuba's LGBTQI community. With wit and spirit, all recall negotiating for autonomy and independence in a culture still bound by patriarchal structures. MAESTRA highlights the will and courage that made the monumental endeavor possible and the pivotal role of women's and youth empowerment in building a new society.
MAESTRAS VOLUNTARIAS builds on the story of the original film and includes additional interviews and archival footage. Ana Deborah Mola and Belkis Lescaille, who were among the first of the volunteer teachers who laid the groundwork for the revolutionary National Literacy Campaign that would follow, are featured.
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