The documentary, directed by Antonio Romero Sosa, was screened in the Caracol Hall of the National Association of Cuban Writers and Artists (UNEAC), and the Screen room 3 of Infanta Movie Complex. The documentary is dedicated to deceased moviemaker Octavio Cortázar and to all those Cubans who have defended the Cuban popular music inside and outside the island.
The documentary competes in the section Hecho en Cuba. It focuses on a renowned personality of the media, the announcer of Radio Progreso Station, also known by the Cuban people as the radio station of the cuban family and the sound of happiness, slogans created and made popular by Rosillo from his popular program La Discoteca Popular.
The documentary shows a testimonial Rosillo, and reveals little known aspects of his arrival in Havana. It also shows the highlights of his work as radio announcer and within his community where he has also developed his cultural work.
Rosillo, gracias a la radio is an original documentary that gives watchers an outlook of how radio broadcasting was like before the triumph of the Revolution in 1959, and thereafter. It also shows the hard work developed by Rosillo to rescue the legacy of some of the most important Cuban musicians such as Benny Moré, La Aragon, and hundreds of groups and orchestras that have spread the best of Cuban music around the world.
Rosillo debates in the documentary about why calling a certain genre of Cuban music Salsa or Son, and his strong position to call it Son. It also depicts the admiration of his neighbors and fans for his kindness, generosity and simplicity. His unmistakable and slow voice is another thing depicted in this documentary in competition at the 33rd International Latin American Film Festival.
The section Hecho en Cuba also screens other 75 documentaries including Loipa, existencia en plenitud, Los mundos de Massip, La voz lirica de Cuba: Maria Eugenia Barrios, Matanzas, creciendo dentro de la musica and Sumbe a feature film by award-winning television director Eduardo Moya. Based on real events, the film tells the story of a group of Cubans, all with different careers, who join Angolan troops to defend the city of Sumbe.
Translated by Daysi Olano