Fausto Pinelo

One winter morning in 1963, a Civil Aviation captain arrives in Gibara. A taxi driver takes him to the guest house of Elena, a lady belonging to the old bourgeoisie of the place. At first, Elena and the other guests treat the newcomer coldly, but when they learn that he is a captain in the US Civil Aviation Authority (who has come to Cuba to exchange medicine for the invaders at Playa Girón), the situation changes. A dazzling romance begins between Elena and the captain, but the ending will be unexpected.

For the centenary of Cuban patriot Jose Marti, the 1950s pre-Castro dictator Batista collected funds for an official film commemoration and hired renowned director Fernandez from Mexico to erect this memorial work.

The daily life of the residents of one house, most of whose lives, in accordance with the customs of southern countries, take place in the courtyard, reflects the national character, the customs of the common people, their talent, and, most importantly, the new things that each new day brings to life in Cuba in the 1960s.

When her country is taken over by socialist revolutionaries, a wealthy woman can't bear to give up all of her wealth and possessions to the new government, so she hides all of her treasures in the 12 chairs of a dining-room set. After her death her nephew finds out what she had done and, since the chairs had been "nationalized" and are now in the possession of a dozen different people, he sets out to track them down and get the treasures he believes rightfully belong to him.