FESTIVAL DIARY: Mijaín Is Cuba

The launching of Mijaín, the documentary about the most celebrated Cuban athlete of this century, promises to be an event. It is foreseeable that the work would generate high expectations, but what transpired at its most recent Havana showing confirmed it was not mere cinephile curiosity, but a cultural and emotional happening. The film, directed by Rolando Almirante, Ángel Alderete, and Héctor Villar, delves into the human essence of a feat that shook the entire country: Mijaín López's conquest of a fifth Olympic gold medal, a milestone now ingrained in the collective memory.

Reviews published by various media outlets highlight that the film's official synopsis is compelling: tracking the road to Paris 2024, through the rigor of training, team tensions, and memories of his native Herradura. But the film goes beyond the facts: it allows the viewer access to the inner workings of a sporting feat and the emotions that accompanied it. At the Festival, this notion was confirmed: Mijaín challenges, moves, and, above all, humanizes.

It achieves this through a non-chronological narrative structure, a "very Tarantino-esque editing," according to Almirante, which allows traversing different moments in the champion's life without following a linear timeline. This editorial freedom lends freshness and dynamism to a story that moves through Paris, Herradura, the Zapata Swamp, and even the Bulgarian city of Teteven, where the athlete completed his final preparation.

By jumping between these spaces, the film reveals not only the exceptional athlete but also the sensitive, austere, and luminous man underlying the myth.

One of the documentary's great values lies precisely in this respectful demystification. Villar, who has witnessed all five of Mijaín's Olympic triumphs, asserts that the intention was never to construct a hagiography, but to show "the brilliance of humility" in a man who, despite his titles, remains a son of his people.

The spontaneous and profoundly affectionate statements from his mother, Leonor Núñez –"Mamita"– add a heartwarming dimension that almost makes her a co-star. The spiritual presence of his father, Bartolo, evoked with delicacy and depth, is also notable.

The film also captures unrepeatable moments of the competitive process. The filming of the final match carries extraordinary weight: with simultaneous teams in Paris, Herradura, and the Zapata Swamp, the filmmakers describe the sensation that "time stood still." The mat-level footage gives the viewer the illusion of being inside the match itself. The testimony of Alderete –who confessed that, despite having been in war zones, his hands had never trembled as they did that day– evidences the intensity of the captured moment.

The collective dimension of the feat also occupies a central place. The reaction of the Cuban public, described as an overwhelming energy that even justified some excesses by the filmmakers, is a reminder of how much the fifth consecutive medal meant for the country, an unprecedented achievement in Olympic history.

Mijaín is more than a sports documentary; it is an intimate portrait, an emotional journey, and an affirmation of the human greatness found in simplicity. The work confirms that behind each medal lie shared sacrifices, emotional landscapes, invisible influences, pains, and certainties.

The film will be presented this Monday at 12:30 p.m. at the 23 y 12 cinema.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque / CubaSí Translation Staff