The movie consists of four distinct short stories about the suffering of the Cuban people and their reactions, varying from passive amazement in the first to a
guerrilla march in the last. Between the stories, a female
narrator (credited "The Voice of Cuba") says such things as, "I am Cuba, the Cuba of the
casinos, but also of the people." The first story (centered on the character Maria) shows the destitute Cuban masses contrasted with the splendor in the American-run gambling casinos in Havana. Maria lives in a
shanty town on the edge of Havana and hopes to marry her fruit-seller boyfriend, René. He is unaware that she leads an unhappy double-life as "Betty," a bar
prostitute at one of the Havana casinos catering to rich Americans. One night, her client asks her if he can see where she lives rather than take her to his own room. She takes him to her small hovel where she reluctantly undresses in front of him. The next morning, he tosses her a few dollars and takes her most prized possession, her
crucifix necklace. As he is about to leave René walks in and sees his ashamed fiancée. The American callously says, "Goodbye, Betty!" as he makes his exit. He is disoriented by the squalor he encounters as he tries to find his way out of the area. The next story is about a farmer, Pedro, who just raised his best crop of
sugar yet. However, his landlord rides up to the farm as he is harvesting his crops and tells him that he has sold the land that Pedro lives on to
United Fruit, and Pedro and his family must leave immediately. Pedro asks what will happen to the crops. The landowner says, "You raised them on my land. I'll let you keep the sweat you put into growing them, but that is all," and he rides off. Pedro lies to his children and tells them everything is fine. He gives them all the money he has and tells them to have a fun day in town. After they leave, he sets all of his crops and house
on fire. He then dies from the smoke inhalation. The third story describes the suppression of
rebellious students led by a character named Enrique at
Havana University (featuring one of the longest camera shots). Enrique is frustrated with the small efforts of the group and wants to do something drastic. He goes off on his own planning on
assassinating the chief of police. However, when he gets him in his sights, he sees that the police chief is eating breakfast with his wife and young children, and Enrique cannot bring himself to pull the trigger. While he is away, his fellow revolutionaries are printing flyers. They are infiltrated by police officers who arrest them. One of the revolutionaries begins throwing flyers out to the crowd below only to be shot by one of the police officers. Later on, Enrique is leading a protest at the university. More police are there to break up the crowd with fire hoses. Enrique is shot after the demonstration becomes a riot. At the end, his body is carried through the streets; he has become a
martyr to his cause. The final part shows Mariano, a typical farmer, who rejects the requests of a revolutionary soldier to join the ongoing war. The soldier appeals to Mariano's desire for a better life for his children, but Mariano only wants to live in peace and insists the soldier leave. Immediately thereafter though, the government's planes begin bombing the area indiscriminately. Mariano's home is destroyed and his son is killed. He then joins the rebels in the
Sierra Maestra Mountains, ultimately leading to a triumphal march into
Havana to proclaim the revolution. == Cast ==