Wednesday, May 14
6:00 pm
Indianapolis Liberation Center
Donation: $5-10 at the door
Immediately after overthrowing centuries of colonial rule in 1959, the Cuban Revolution starting promoting radical reforms in various fields—from economics and politics to culture and gender relations. One of the most transformative was the “National Literacy Campaign” of 1961, also known as the “Year of Education.” Hundreds of thousands of Cubans volunteered for a fight against illiteracy. The Ministry of Education even shuttered city schools so that youth who were at least 10-years-old and had completed the sixth-grade could participate. By 1962, Cuba reached a literacy rate of 96.1 percent—making it one of the most literate countries in the world.
Through archival footage and interviews of some of the youngest women to participate in the campaign, Catherine Murphy’s documentary, Maestra, demonstrates the profound capacity of everyday people—including youth—to transform themselves, each other, society, and even the world. The Campaign was not only a battle against illiteracy, but a battle against the rural/urban divide and, even more so, the gender roles of the colonial era, where girls and women were not to leave the home, let alone venture to the countryside to teach peasants old and young alike.
After screening the film, we’ll have an engaging discussion about the lessons we can draw from it and how we might apply those lessons—whether they be specific or general—in our current moment.
Questions? Email contact@PSLIndianapolis.org.