Calendar of a society seen from the classroom › Culture › Granma - Official voice of the PCC

In Cuba there are many 9th. 3, like those of the Calendar series, which since January 9 has been broadcast by the Cubavisión channel, every Sunday, in prime time. There are also teachers like Amalia, "a paradigm, but, at the same time, a real character, who is not spotless, but a human being."

Because the actors we see every week on the small screen «won the casting and gave their characters skin, soul and image», because Amílcar Salatti and Magda González Grau dared to look at the In today's Cuban society, this renowned filmmaker –while writing, doing castings, looking for new locations, together with a team with which she can achieve anything– steals a few minutes from the preparation of the second season of the series, to talk with Granma about the first installment of this drama that proposes coconuts and snails instead of pumpkins!

“Calendario arose after hearing the results of an investigation carried out by Dr. Keila Estévez, director of the Center for Youth Studies, through which young people and adolescents had been interviewed on issues of the country. Several boys said that the teachers were intrusive, they limited their opinion, that they did not trust them, that they had nothing interesting to teach them. That worried me, because the teachers of my life –beginning with my mother– marked me a lot».

González Grau, who had Amílcar Salatti by his side, “one of the best writers in this country”, asked him if he dared, and from there they began “to plot a story that was first thought of as a teleplay. Then we saw how many topics we could tackle and it became a short series.

«At this moment, our country has a positive tendency to look at science as the source of many things: to make good decisions, to influence society. President Díaz-Canel has emphasized this and I think it is very important. In the case of the audiovisual, it is necessary to investigate. The director has to know what he is talking about, because he has a very important instrument: fiction».

The Director of this dramatized believes that today «what Cuba needs is a story like that of Calendar, where the teacher plays his role in the formation of the new generations, in the Martian concept of teaching. In the series is Amalia, and she is a creator of the future, of better human beings.

González Grau's clarity regarding this theme moved her to direct an audiovisual product whose target audience is young people, but which should also be enjoyed by the rest of the family, since "it is extremely important to know what is happening with Cuban adolescence . That is the future of the country. As seen in the series, many times parents are oblivious to what their children are thinking.

For the also Dubbing Director, «this is an audience that is unprotected in terms of audiovisuals. There is, generally, good programming for children and adults, but that period of adolescence-early youth is not covered much, and it should be done, because at that stage the individual is being formed, the ethical foundations are being laid, and the role family and school is very important.”

On the other hand, one of the main obstacles of this production, whose filming began in February, was that it was made during the confinement.

Tarará became a kind of bubble, just to film. Then everyone went back to their homes. "There we had protection conditions and we took measures." Magda, who closely followed Dr. Durán's lectures, established protocols, maintained distancing, the use of face mask and alcohol, hand washing, breech steps, and PCR was performed periodically.

"I don't think we were lucky, that's random, but we created the conditions to be lucky."

Another challenge, perhaps the biggest, is that it was the first time that the ICRT provided the finances for the team to independently manage the production. "Thinking about art, but also about logistics, putting resources where the work needs them most, not being guided by the provisions, but by what is needed," Yolanda Rosario, the general producer, was in charge of "leading that process, with care, organizational ability and honesty.

He also mentioned, as a challenge, working with so many young people. «9 no. 3 has 15 characters with strong conflicts. My assistant director, Alfredo Felipe, who was the one who organized the casting, played a very important role there. There I saw the young talent of this country parade with great joy, which is extraordinary, trained in our art schools. It was a very strong selection. There were times when we didn't know how to decide, and we had to go for a second round, with a different scene.

“The series itself was a challenge” for someone who has a vast career as a filmmaker, but who Calendar is his first film in this audiovisual genre. «He had never directed a series and he wanted to do it with all the rigor with which I have worked with the unitaries, and I think we achieved it. The team got on the train with me. We got a wardrobe breakdown, built each character in detail, got the locations we wanted. There was one day when we did 17 scenes in the classroom. But it gives me great satisfaction to see a stimulated team, which is at the foot of the canyon, ready for things to turn out well. In the end, that stimulated us to do better, more rigorous.

This dramatized not only has a "wonderful" creative team, but also a cast that is proving to be luxurious, where experienced actors and younger ones mix: "several generations interact, as life is."

“First the boys and the teacher were chosen. Based on how they looked, the parents were selected. And since I believe a lot in the quality of the actors for the success of a fiction, I had the luxury of summoning some of the best in this country. Some I've worked with and some I wanted to work with. There are Beatriz Viñas, Maridelmis Marín, Mario Rodríguez Tarife, who is absolutely organic, he believes a lot in him, and he has produced that director who, from his position, can be flexible. Nobody better than him. It was a very cool mix. They helped each other a lot, they got along. The creative environment that we had from the rehearsals, where the older ones advised the younger ones and they in turn admired them, that is seen on the screen”.

Although some people have expressed some disagreement with the broadcast schedule, González Grau defends the view that it is a series that is written for the Cuban family, since it addresses issues that interest the entire society. «It is a good schedule, I think that this should be the space for the Cuban series, because, unfortunately, Tras la huella does not have production to fill the whole year. As long as we can produce series, they should be placed there, and that the public gets used to dramatizations other than soap operas.

Proof of this is the avalanche of publications on the networks after the transmission of the first chapter. «When they began to give opinions I felt overwhelmed, and with a tremendous scare for the responsibility that involves reaching so many people. Hopefully all the chapters meet those expectations. The crew is happy, the actors too. Sometimes I don't believe it, it makes me very happy ».

The overwhelming success of Calendar in its first two broadcasts led Cuban Television to bet on a second season. «We want to go out to film in March, with the team I have I think I can achieve everything. It has been an extraordinary professional experience."