Television Serrana
Encyclopedia
Television Serrana is a growing television and video project operating in Sierra Maestra
in Cuba. TVS was founded by Daniel Diez Castillo who also is a director. Television Serrana is located in a small town, San Pablo de Yao, in the Buey Arriba territory. This small community inhabits 32, 000 people and most are coffee growers and/or producers. The focus of TVS is to acknowledge and give voice to the farmers in the mountain ranges. TVS is preserving the culture of this small community and “connecting them to the broader cultural life of Cuba
. The people of Sierra Maestra will be informed of other larger cities in Cuba, but also the rest of Cuba will notice who the people of Sierra Maestra are. TVS promotes awareness through the form of art. TVS uses art
to speak about the communities needs, beliefs, identity and to find “solutions to problems”
. January 15, 1993 institutions came together to sponsor and support TVS. UNESCO
provided funding and support. The government of Cuba through the ICRT
supplied staff and training for the volunteers/employers.
, Cuba
from The Cuban National Broadcasting Channel (ICRT). When Castillo left Havana, Cuba was in the “Periodo Especial” or Special Period
. This was the economic crisis that followed after the fall of the Soviet Union. Castillo went east towards the region of the Sierra Maestras. The Sierra Maestras is known for its amazing mountains and the men who came across it. Fidel Castro
, Che Guevara
and many other rebels organized themselves to fight against Fulgencio Batista
. Sierra Maestra is filled with mountains and not many people go towards it, so it became isolated from other parts of Cuba
. Before Castillo came along, the rest of Cuba portrayed Sierra Maestra as the "producers of staples; nothing was said about their dreams, their conflicts, their culture"
. Daniel Diez Castillo then wanted to film the real Sierra Maestra, his goal was to “make a collective form of cinema, to produce movies and documentaries narrating the history and identity of people living that area, to create a form of partaken communication far from the capital”
. TV Serrana was first funded by UNESCO
, but after time they were able to self-fund its own programs.
, Super VHS and Beta nonprofessional cameras and editing equipment". The crew of TVS consists of “three cameramen, three directors, two editors, two producers, two sound assistants and three drivers who also set up the lighting when needed. One main feature used in TVS are video letters. A video letter is a reportage that captures the people of Sierra Maestra’s experiences, lives and dreams through their own perspective. Video letters are not edited by the media, but they show the true reality and struggles of the people. Video letters are also important because they are seen by others and are used for responding. They create communication between boundaries and is a great factor in Television Serrana.
which allow people within the communities to share their stories.
felt the newcomers were intruding onto their land, interrupting their daily lives and thought the intentions of the crew were to give the locals a bad image. The crew had to show the people that they came with positive objectives and wanted to help the communities.
Sierra Maestra
Sierra Maestra is a mountain range that runs westward across the south of the old Oriente Province from what is now Guantánamo Province to Niquero in southeast Cuba, rising abruptly from the coast. Some view it as a series of connecting ranges , which joins with others extending to the west...
in Cuba. TVS was founded by Daniel Diez Castillo who also is a director. Television Serrana is located in a small town, San Pablo de Yao, in the Buey Arriba territory. This small community inhabits 32, 000 people and most are coffee growers and/or producers. The focus of TVS is to acknowledge and give voice to the farmers in the mountain ranges. TVS is preserving the culture of this small community and “connecting them to the broader cultural life of Cuba
. The people of Sierra Maestra will be informed of other larger cities in Cuba, but also the rest of Cuba will notice who the people of Sierra Maestra are. TVS promotes awareness through the form of art. TVS uses art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
to speak about the communities needs, beliefs, identity and to find “solutions to problems”
. January 15, 1993 institutions came together to sponsor and support TVS. UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
provided funding and support. The government of Cuba through the ICRT
supplied staff and training for the volunteers/employers.
History
The project of TV Serrana began in 1993 by Daniel Diez Castillo. Castillo was a television producer in HavanaHavana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
from The Cuban National Broadcasting Channel (ICRT). When Castillo left Havana, Cuba was in the “Periodo Especial” or Special Period
Special Period
The Special Period in Time of Peace in Cuba was an extended period of economic crisis that began in 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and, by extension, the Comecon. The economic depression of the Special Period was at its most severe in the early-to-mid 1990s before slightly declining...
. This was the economic crisis that followed after the fall of the Soviet Union. Castillo went east towards the region of the Sierra Maestras. The Sierra Maestras is known for its amazing mountains and the men who came across it. Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
, Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
and many other rebels organized themselves to fight against Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was the United States-aligned Cuban President, dictator and military leader who served as the leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1944 and from 1952 to 1959, before being overthrown as a result of the Cuban Revolution....
. Sierra Maestra is filled with mountains and not many people go towards it, so it became isolated from other parts of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. Before Castillo came along, the rest of Cuba portrayed Sierra Maestra as the "producers of staples; nothing was said about their dreams, their conflicts, their culture"
. Daniel Diez Castillo then wanted to film the real Sierra Maestra, his goal was to “make a collective form of cinema, to produce movies and documentaries narrating the history and identity of people living that area, to create a form of partaken communication far from the capital”
. TV Serrana was first funded by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
, but after time they were able to self-fund its own programs.
Tools and Main Features of Television Serrana
Tools used for Television Serrana are simple, it includes: "VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
, Super VHS and Beta nonprofessional cameras and editing equipment". The crew of TVS consists of “three cameramen, three directors, two editors, two producers, two sound assistants and three drivers who also set up the lighting when needed. One main feature used in TVS are video letters. A video letter is a reportage that captures the people of Sierra Maestra’s experiences, lives and dreams through their own perspective. Video letters are not edited by the media, but they show the true reality and struggles of the people. Video letters are also important because they are seen by others and are used for responding. They create communication between boundaries and is a great factor in Television Serrana.
Services Provided
The program aims to promote self-sustaining activities, TV Serrana provides programs and opportunities to the people living within the villages. A majority of the training workshops were given through El Centro de Estudios para la Comunicación Comunitaria (CECC), created in 1996. TV Serrana along with the help of supporting institutions provides training and services through seminars that help locals with communication and community building skills through the use of media. These programs offer lessons to villagers "willing to use video in their communities as a tool for participatory development and democratic communication". Other services accessible through TVS is the ability to transfer and copy video-cassettes from and to Beta VHS and S-VHSS-VHS
S-VHS is an improved version of the VHS standard for consumer-level analog recording videocassettes. It was introduced by JVC in Japan in April 1987 with the HR-S7000 VCR and certain overseas markets soon afterwards...
which allow people within the communities to share their stories.
Constraints
Television Serrana has been a growing success, but there were difficulties in the beginning. One of the problems of TVS was the lack of experience many of the crew members had. Most had to take training sessions on how to work media products and running programs within the community. As mentioned before, the trainees had to learn how to do video letters and how to transfer and copy video-cassettes to and from Beta VHS. The greatest of constraints for the project was gaining the trust and confidence needed by the local communities. Many of the villagers were skeptical of the programs intentions, which created difficulties to gain the support from locals. The people of Sierra MaestraSierra Maestra
Sierra Maestra is a mountain range that runs westward across the south of the old Oriente Province from what is now Guantánamo Province to Niquero in southeast Cuba, rising abruptly from the coast. Some view it as a series of connecting ranges , which joins with others extending to the west...
felt the newcomers were intruding onto their land, interrupting their daily lives and thought the intentions of the crew were to give the locals a bad image. The crew had to show the people that they came with positive objectives and wanted to help the communities.