Isle Of Youth (1969, sound)

[Music] foreign getting back [Music] the aisle of Youth is an important experiment in the history of the Cuban Revolution an experiment in creating the conditions for a new society when the experiment began in 1967 young people between the ages of 15 and 25 came from all over Cuba to work on the island for 2 years these young men and women volunteer to try a new way of life to live work and study [Music] together they work hard because they know that a stable economy will allow everyone to develop their fullest potential the struggle on the island is not only to overcome material deprivation but also to overcome the dehumanization and underdevelopment which existed under American [Music] imperialism most of the people on the island live with their fellow workers there are a lot of women and for those with children there are nurseries and schools which care for the children from the age of 45 [Music] days [Music] although sugar is still Cuba's main crop it is not grown on the island here they carry on a wide range of agricultural experiments as part of their decision to diversify the [Applause] economy [Music] [Applause] [Music] for foreign fore [Applause] [Applause] [Music] speee [Music] when the experiment began the aisle of Youth was nothing more than a small island with a large prison a deluxe hotel called el Colony set up by American racketeers for gambling and abortions and one of rockefeller's many Estates very few people lived on the island and most of these were the families of the prisoners nothing was grown on the island most of the land was Rocky and uncultivated now it is hard to find an acre of land that isn't being worked the workers who clear the land are the chaara Brigade they are exemplary workers and are given their name because of the hard work and rugged living conditions they live in tents work long hours operate heavy machinery and go wherever they are needed in their attempt to build the economy and provide food for all the people in Cuba efforts are being made to increase the egg meat and milk production on Dairy [Music] [Applause] Farms before the Revolution when 80 to 90% of the country's children didn't have milk the 50,000 cows they had were enough now that they want milk for all children and for those who need it and for those who would like to have it 50 100 or even 200,000 cows are not enough therefore experiments in crossbreeding and artificial insemination are producing cows with a higher resistance to disease and at the same time will produce a better quality beef and give a greater yield of milk each day [Music] one of the aims of the experiment is to eliminate money as an incentive for work the volunteers still receive wages but because the things they need and want are provided by the State money has little value not only are all the Necessities provided food clothing housing but books films and other Recreation facilities are available and [Music] free [Music] [Music] than [Music] I [Music] in addition to people's Farms there are also family camps where city workers doctors teachers choose to spend their vacations rather than in the many resorts and hotels available to them for those who come to these camps it is an opportunity to do physical work and to live communally with different kinds of people they work for nine days in agriculture Citrus coffee planting and on the 10th day they visit the rest of the island even though the volunteers stay for such a short period of time there is a strong sense of permanence and an enthusiastic communal [Music] feeling [Music] foree [Music] [Music] fore [Music] [Applause] [Music] foree [Music] everyone on the island is a student as well as a worker Fidel talks about how the universities will no longer be isolated but will be where the people are in this way the distinction between manual worker and intellectual is broken down when an agricultural student works in the fields when men building a dam understand the principles of hydraulics engineering and construction when they understand why it is important for the dam to be built which crops it will affect and how it will affect the economy and what it means for the revolution then a new dimension is [Applause] added iron as it seems the same building where Fidel was imprisoned by Batista after the Monada attack in 1953 is now one of the best examples of this relationship between theory and practice this old prison is being transformed into a Hydraulics and Engineering Institute by the young people who are also studying there part of their day is spent in formal classroom study while another part is spent tearing down the old cells and building class rooms dormitories Recreation rooms and gymnasiums armed defense is also necessary for the success of the Revolution and the workers integrate their military training into everything else that they do on the aisle the young people work with a strong sense of purpose because they feel that the aisle of Youth is an example a model for all the people of the third world who still live the way Cubans did 10 years ago these young people want to show that a revolution prepares the ground for a better way of [Music] life the experiment is working to develop a new Consciousness a new man and a new woman it proves that men and women can be motivated by human values by the needs of their brothers and sisters rather than by material values it proves that a society can be built on the needs of a revolution shows that there is another way to live