Gloria Rolando Casamayor, Imágenes del Caribe
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"Tú si le das valor a la música, no es solo para acompañar bajito. En tu documental la música se escucha, se ve, se siente." -- Lucía Huergo
"Yes, you give value to the music, you don't have it merely accompanying in the background. In your documentary, music is heard, it's seen, it's felt." -- Lucía Huergo

New Academy Members 2019 7/2019 Oscars.org: "Gloria Rolando: Dialogue with My Grandmother, 1912: Breaking the Silence, Chapter 1"

Gloria Rolando's career as film director spans over 35 years at ICAIC, the Cuban national film institute. She also heads an independent film-making group, Imágenes del Caribe, based in Havana. She calls the series of her films "Histories and Images of Our People" and many them can be ordered through AfroCubaWeb. They include, in chronological order:

1) "Oggun: An Eternal Present," 1991, on the Orisha Oggun, the god of war and peace, metals, and civilization, as experienced in the life of Lazaro Ros, the prominent Cuban Yoruba singer and founding member of the Conjunto Folklorico Nacional: 52 mn, with English subtitles. An homage to those who have anonymously preserved the heritage of the African Yoruba religion in Cuba up to the present. Has English subtitles. Available with English subtitles as downloadable mp4 file, 52 min

2) "My Footsteps in Baraguá," 1996, on the history in Cuba of an extensive West Indian community (consisting of people from Jamaica, Barbados, & many others): in English/Spanish.  We find many immigrants in Baraguá, province of Ciego de Avila. Available in English & Spanish, with English subtitles as downloadable mp4 file, 53 min.

3) "Eyes of the Rainbow/Ojos del arco iris," 1997, a film on Assata Shakur, the Black Panther and Black Liberation Army leader who took refuge in Cuba after years of struggles in the US. The film integrates AfroCuban culture, including the Orisha Oya, to show Assata's context in Cuba, where she has lived for close to 20 years. In English. Was available commercially, is no longer available. 47 min

4) "El Alacrán / The Scorpion," 2000, deals with the carnaval in Havana and one comparsa especially, El Alacrán, which was founded in 1908 and dedicated to Yemaya.  Available, with English subtitles, as downloadable mp4 file, 20 min.

5) "Raices de Mi Corazon/Roots of My Heart," 2001, feature film on the 1912 genocide when over 6,000 members of the Independents of Color, the first black political party outside of Haiti, were massacred by the Cuban Army. This independently produced feature film follows a young woman as she finds out about her families roots, which includes disturbing revelations around the 1912 Genocide (El Doce). Available with English subtitles, as downloadable mp4 file, 51 min.

6) "Los Marqueses de Atarés," 2003, a documentary about another Havana comparsa, or carnival group, which continues her group's strategy of rescuing and preserving afrocuban cultural expressions. Very well received in the Atarés neighborhood and other centers such as the Conjunto Folklorico Nacional. In Spanish. Premiered in 2002, available in Spanish only, but worth getting even if you don't know Spanish -- many great Carnaval scenes. Available as downloadable mp4 file, en español, 46 min.

7) "Nosotros y el Jazz / The Jazz in Us,"  2004.  The goal of this documentary is to relate a chapter in the history shared by Afrocubans and African Americans through their common culture. English subtitles. Not released commercially.

8) “Pasajes Del Corazón y La Memoria” (Historias de Cubanos y Caimaneros), 2007. English: Cherished Island Memories. The story of the founding of Jacksonville, Isle of Youth, Cuba, by immigrants from the Cayman Islands. Available as downloadable mp4 file,  with English subtitles. 38 min.

9) 1912: Breaking the Silence Chapter 1 / 1912, Voces para un Silencio, Capitulo 1, 2010. First chapter in a documentary series on the Massacre of 1912. Available as downloadable mp4 file,  with English subtitles. 46 min.

10) 1912: Breaking the Silence, Chapter 2 / 1912, Voces para un Silencio, Capitulo 2, 2011. Second chapter in a documentary series on the Massacre of 1912. Available as downloadable mp4 file,  with English subtitles. 58 min.

11) 1912: Breaking the Silence, Capitulo 3 / 1912, Voces para un Silencio, Capitulo 3, 2012. Third chapter in a documentary series on the Massacre of 1912. Available as downloadable mp4 file,  with English subtitles.  58 min.

12) Reembarque / Reshipment, 2014. The story of Haitian immigrants to Oriente in the early 20th century and their forced repatriation after the sugar market crashed. With extensive footage of the Haitian Cuban group Desandann. With English subtitles. 58 min.

13) Dialogo con mi abuela/Dialog with My Grandmother, 2016. Gloria Rolando dialogs with her grandmother, Inocencia Leonarda Armas y Abreu. With English subtitles. 40 min.

14) Hermanas de Corazon/Sisters of the Heart. 2023. 3 chapters. Deals with the history of the Oblate Sisters of Providence in Cuba and the US.

Awards

• Medalla Alejo Carpentier, award given to cultural leaders in Cuba. 3/31/2024

• XXI Festival Internacional de Documentales Santiago Álvarez in Memoriam, PREMIO ESPECIAL DEL JURADO y PREMIO COLATERAL CONSEJO PROVINCIAL DE LAS ARTES ESCÉNICAS, 3/2024

• Gran Premio Caracol de la Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (UNEAC) para Hermanas de Corazon, 2022.

• Concedido Premio a la Obra de la Vida a cineasta cubana Gloria Rolando en el Festival de Cine Independiente de Barbados, 1/2020

• Dialogo con mi abuela nominate for Best Short Documentary, Pan African Film Festival, Los Angeles, 2017

• Distinción “Gitana Tropical”. In 2000. Granted by Dirección Provincial de Cultura de la Ciudad de la Habana.

• Diploma “Al Mérito Artístico”. In 2000. Granted by  la República de Cuba, Ministerio de Cultura y el Ministro de Educación Superior.

• Medalla Federico Fellini. In 2009. Granted by UNESCO to Gloria Rolando as director. Previous winners include Samira Makhmalbaf (Iran, 2000), Gerard Depardieu (France, 2001), Vanessa Redgrace, (UK, 2001), Im-Kwon Taek (South Korea, 2002) and Clint Eastwood (US, 2003).

• Sara Gómez Prize for the documentary "Pasajes del corazon y la memoria" (2007). In 2010. Granted by the Consejo Nacional de Casas de Cultura (La Habana) in the 30th Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano. (See also Sara Gómez)

• Annual "Walterio Carbonell" Prize for the serial "1912, Voces para un silencio". Granted by Cofradia de la Negritud. In 2012

• Caracol Prize from UNEAC in the category of director for the serial "1912, Voces para un silencio". In 2013

• Caracol Prize from UNEAC in the category of documentary for Dialogo con mi abuela. In 2016.

Memberships

• Member, Red de Mujeres Afrolatinas y Afrocaribeñas
• Global Board Member of the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College, Michigan, EE-UU
• May 6th, 2001 was Gloria Rolando Day in Oakland. She was in the midst of her 2001 Tour.

Interviews & Articles

Raices Negras, Aliento Universal, Gloria entrevisada por Mercedes Santos, 2007  
Speech at Black Women Writers and the Future, 10/97
Interview in "Women," Havana, 1996, describes "Oggun"
 
Gloria Rolando interviews/Entrevistas - 16 interviews

Gloria Rolando in the News - over 90 articles

Biographical Notice of Gloria Rolando with an extensive portfolio listing and a statement of purpose.

Afrocubanas, historia, pensamiento y prácticas culturales, "Mis Razones", por Gloria Rolando, 15/2/12 

Call for Papers

Call for Papers – Breaking Silences: A Critical Examination of the Life and Work of Gloria Rolando 9/10/2018  Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora: "What does it mean to be a black Cuban woman filmmaker whose work intervenes upon the erasure and distortion of the lives and deaths of black people in Cuba and beyond?"

This call for paper is at the request of Andrea Queeley and Devyn Spence Benson, both accomplished Cuba scholars who are putting togther a book on Gloria.

CALL FOR PAPERS - Breaking Silences: A Critical Examination of the Life and Work of Gloria Rolando

CONVOCATORIA DE PUBLICACIÓN - Rompiendo silencios: un examen crítico de la vida y obra de Gloria Rolando

Para Gloria Rolando en Camagüey. Palabras Presentación Doc. “Diálogo con mi abuela”. Almacén de la Imagen 2019.
Yoelxy Pilliner López, 23/10/2019

Varias veces he tenido la oportunidad y el regocijo de presentar en esta ciudad la obra de la destacada realizadora del Instituto Cubano de Artes e Industrias Cinematográficos Gloria Rolando Casamayor. Sin embargo, nunca lo había hecho con su presencia, a pesar que en otras ocasiones ha estado en suelo camagüeyano, pero en funciones de trabajo.

Enfrentarse y disfrutar la obra de Gloria Rolando, es pensar en cubano, pensar en Caribe. Pues ella es una suerte de “todo en uno”: la investigadora, guionista, productora, directora, manager, en fin… el alma (apoyada por su equipo de trabajo) del Grupo de Video Imágenes del Caribe. Un proyecto que persigue visibilizar la importancia de la presencia y herencia africana para Cuba y el Caribe; legado del cual, algunos teóricos y estudiosos del área, han denominado como “El Caribe Cultural Afro-Americano”. Otro de los objetivo de este proyecto consiste en fracturar esas zonas de silencio histórico-cultural que forman parte de la memoria de sus habitantes. Por eso toda su obra ─Ogún eterno guerreo, Los hijos de Baraguá, Paisajes del corazón y la memoria, 1912, voces para un silencio, Reembarque, por solo mencionar algunas─ revela la conciencia y reafirmación etno-cultural del ser caribeño.

La obra que disfrutaremos esta noche inaugural, Diálogo con mi abuela, su más reciente producción, a través del recurso de la memoria oral, expone esos fenómenos de desigualdad y discriminación que sufrieron muchos habitantes de la isla, en los inicios de la pasada centuria; pero a la vez, es un canto y un llamado a la paz espiritual y física de los hombres y mujeres de la tierra.

Por eso, en nombre de los organizadores de este evento Almacén de la Imagen, de los pobladores y visitantes de esta ciudad que apreciamos y amamos tu obra, Gracias, Gloria Rolando por hoy estar con nosotros! Por mi parte, en lo profesional, por permitirme, desde esta ciudad, ser parte del Grupo Imágenes del Caribe y brindarme todo tu apoyo; en lo personal, por darme todo el cariño que has tenido para ofrecer y, sobre todas las cosas ─aunque no soy fruto de tu vientre─ por acogerme como un hijo. ¡Por todo, gracias, Gloria! Y, ¡gracias también a Isabelita, Labrada e Yhordan, por permitirme ofrecer estas palabras!

Camagüey 23 de octubre de 2019, 6:30 PM.

Kiley Acosta arranged to have this interview with Gloria Rolando filmed while she did the translating, in 2014:

GLORIA ROLANDO (filmmaker) on Cuba, race & gender, documentary films (Int. Kiley Acosta) pt 1  1/8/2016 YouTube, Kiley Acosta: "Gloria Rolando (filmmaker) discusses race & gender representation, documentary filmmaking, and her film on Cuba’s Independent Party of Color (1908). Interpreter: Kiley Guyton Acosta, PhD. Video by: Susan Martinez Casa de las Américas. Havana, Cuba. 2014"

GLORIA ROLANDO (filmmaker) on Cuba, race & gender, documentary films (Int. Kiley Acosta) pt 2  1/8/2016 YouTube, Kiley Acosta: "Rolando’s talk formed part of the international symposium Afro-Cuban Voices, organized by Pedro Pérez Sarduy, co-editor of the bilingual anthologies AFROCUBA (1993) & Afro-Cuban Voices: On Race and Identity in Contemporary Cuba (2000) and author of the acclaimed novel "The Maids of Havana (2001). For more info. contact kileyacosta@ConnectARTE.com * Español * Gloria Rolando (cineasta) discute la representación de raza, genero, el cine documental, y el filme que hizo sobre el Partido Independiente de Color de Cuba (1908). Interprete: Kiley Guyton Acosta, PhD. Video filmado por: Susan Martinez Casa de las Américas. Habana, Cuba. Mayo 2014."

GLORIA ROLANDO (filmmaker) on Cuba, race & gender, documentary films +Q&A (Int. Kiley Acosta) pt 3  1/8/2016 YouTube, Kiley Acosta: "La presentación de Rolando formó parte del simposio internacional Voces Afro-Cubanas, organizado por Pedro Pérez Sarduy, co-editor de las antologías bilingües AFROCUBA (1993) & Voces afro-cubanas (2000) y autor de la aclamada novela Las criadas de la Habana (2001). Para obtener más información, comuníquese con kileyacosta@ConnectARTE.com"