Sons of Cuba

The Film

In the last seven Olympic Games in which Cuba has competed, it has won a staggering 32 medals for boxing. The world knows the names of the great Cuban boxers: Stevenson, Savon, Kindelan and Rigondeaux, but few people know how this secretive third-world island produces such an endless stream of champions.

Every year, some 25 boys aged between 9 and 11, chosen from hundreds of young hopefuls, are selected to attend The Havana Boxing Academy. The state pays for their accommodation, training, and lodging; and through a strict training regime, starts them on the road to becoming the best boxers in the world. The routine is intense. The boys are awakened at 4:00 AM every morning to train for two hours in the dark. Their meager breakfast is a single egg and a cup of milk, before they attend a full day of (often politically motivated) lessons at the local primary school. At 4:30 PM they are back on the training ground for another two hours.

Sons of Cuba follows the stories of three young hopefuls — Cristian, Santos, and Junior — as they prepare for the most important tournament of their young careers: Cuba’s Under-12 National Boxing Championship.