On November 27th, 1871, an event occurred that stained the history of Cuba in blood for life. That day eight medical students were shot without the slightest remorse under the pretext of an alleged outrage at the grave of Gonzalo de Castañón, a figure quite admired by the Volunteer Corps.

This story reached the big screen a few years ago under the direction of Alejandro Gil, who managed to create a product capable of softening the coldest of hearts and that is only achieved when the story is told perfectly, without any loophole.

For Alejandro Gil, this fact has tremendous significance and, as if he were the wisest of historians, he speaks of it with astonishing mastery.

“I consider it to be the most painful event of the Cuban 19th century. It should be noted that to a large extent it is given by the circumstances that developed abroad and in Cuba itself, colonies revolting against their metropolises. Those ideas began to permeate mainly university students, who were the ones with the most access to information.

“There was already an organized war in Cuba, a constitution, an anthem, a flag and also positive results were being obtained in the conflict, with great actions such as the rescue of Sanguily or the entry of Gómez to Guantánamo, for example. The news of these military actions began to transcend and reached Havana, a city that had to be kept under control, therefore everything related to the desecration of Gonzalo de Castañón’s tomb became a pretext to satisfy the thirst for revenge of the Volunteers.

“What started as a whisper spread and reached the ears of the most spiteful people and that caused what happened on November 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th. In addition, the Governor was not in the capital, Balmaceda at that time was in the eastern part of the country, so everything happened in his absence, so that the conditions were created for an event of this type to occur. ”

How did the idea of ​​making a movie based on this incident come about?

“The film was born from a documentary; a documentary series entitled History of Military Art in Cuba, back in the 80’s. That series had exhibitions by Eusebio Leal and as he referred to this topic, he gave me the idea of dedicating a documentary just to this incident.

“But it turns out that during the investigation process I realized that the event was worth more than a documentary. The idea rested and the research continued for many years until it was finally materialized on a film.

“Without a doubt, Innocence encourages us to take into account contemporary values from its history, therefore many consider it necessary to safeguard national dignity, and that’s why I really feel that the public and the specialists identify themselves with the film. ”

In this research process, issues emerged that are rarely addressed in everyday life, as is the case of that other facet, beyond Martí’s friend, who is given to Fermín Valdés Domínguez and the attempt to rescue by an Abacuá sect . Do these details emerge from the documentary or from subsequent investigations?

“As a result of the documentary, the clues that required a more demanding investigation emerge. That is the case of Fermín, he is the symbol of perseverance, of unwavering friendship, of the recognition of a need to save the identity of his friends. They were 16 years of searching, without the technological developments that we have today. You have to imagine how long 16 years are, in the life of a man, dedicated to searching for the remains of innocence. Fermín is a hero that must be investigated much more.

“In the case of the Abacuá, the same thing happens, it is a very controversial matter, some said it was true, others that it was romantic, but in the investigation we discovered that there is a speech from Che in which he refers to this, also a letter from a Havana historian who asked to pay attention to the monument of the anonymous heroes, as well as other evidence. It really has a great contribution to the idiosyncratic identity of our country. ”

Alejando en Innocence managed to mix contemporary audiovisual techniques with in-depth research. This film, which few manage to see without shedding any tears, despite of been part of the fiction genre, has a millimeter attachment to real history and that gives it an incalculable value.

It is not easy to bring to the whole world that terrible story, of when hatred, a thirst for revenge and evil killed innocence.

Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García

Full interview with Alejandro Gil