Isla de la Juventud (Island of Youth), the seventh largest island in the Caribbean, can be found about 50 kilometers south of the main island of Cuba. It has gone by many names over the years. Early settlers from Jamaica and Venezuela called it Singuanea. Christopher Columbus christened it La Evangelista when he arrived at its shores in 1494, which was before the name Isla de Pinos (Isle of Pines) cropped up in Spanish records. Of course, the etymology of this appellation draws on the great number of conifers on the island.
Later yet, while the island was ruled by corsairs and freebooters and even drew the attention of Francis Drake, it was also known as Parrot Island. However, the persistent rumor that Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island was inspired by this island must be refuted.
Although the Spanish wanted to settle the island and use it for agriculture, they had to abandon their plan fairly quickly because pirates claimed the island rich in caves and rivers for themselves. A while later, Europeans transformed the island into a penal colony. In the 1860s, the island’s mineral baths brought the first American tourists. During the Spanish-American War, Washington discovered the advantages of the island and it was excluded from Cuba. This sparked a new wave of settlers which ended abruptly in 1925 when the U.S. finally recognized Cuban sovereignty over the island. The United States made further failed attempts to settle the island all the way into the 1950s. Today only the ruins of an American cemetery remain as a reminder of this time.
Cuba transformed the island into a prison once again. In 1953, after a failed coup attempt, Fidel Castro was sent there and spent 19 months jailed. Four years later, Castro came into power and turned the island into a free harbor with daily flights to Havana. In the 1970s, the head of state had a vision of the island as a place for the young, full of international schools in which young people would learn Marxist theory and Spanish, and renamed the island Isla de la Juventud. 61 schools were established on the island. They mostly hosted students from African countries who combined their studies with agricultural work, among other things. Sara Gómez’s film is set in this period. Not much remains of these schools today.
Today, the dwindling population of the island is fighting for survival. Tourism might be a possibility, but the island’s remote location presents a significant obstacle. In addition, the island is often visited by hurricanes. The island’s grapefruit industry and fishing are still a source of income for some of the inhabitants. There are about 80,000 people living on the island, but the number is constantly growing smaller.
As with so many places recorded by filmmakers, sociopolitical realities turn out to be fleeting when viewed from a historical perspective. The course of history never pulls to a stop—it is only in cinema that we have time to stop time and look back.