Press
“A Cuban journalist is looking to spread awareness of the US trade embargo in two illuminating documentaries arriving in early 2024.”
Inside Cuba’s First Ever Little League World Series Appearance
October 12, 2023
“Daniel Montero sits down with Dave Zirin of Edge of Sports TV for a follow-up to his documentary ‘Little League Dreams: Cuba’s Road to Williamsport,’ produced by Belly of the Beast.”
Cuba sends team to Little League World Series for the first time
September 8, 2023
“The documentary "Little League Dreams" profiles Cuba’s top little leaguers as they prepare for the series in Pennsylvania and looks at the family hardships the young players have to contend with in the midst of a crushing economic crisis in Cuba.”
Little League Dreams w/ Belly of the Beast’s Daniel Montero
August 21, 2023
“Miguel García [of Sports as a Weapon podcast] spoke to Daniel about his documentary film director debut, Little League Dreams, which dropped on Belly of the Beast’s YouTube page.”
“Little League Dreams, a new documentary by media organization Belly of the Beast, showcases the young players and their individual journeys, providing much-needed context for the excitement and meaning that is little understood in the United States.”
Pequeñas Ligas de Béisbol: un sueño cubano en Pensilvania
August 14, 2023
“El amor por el béisbol y la convicción de que son posibles unas mejores relaciones entre Cuba y Estados Unidos, se erigen como dos de las principales líneas conjugadas en el documental Little League Dreams, lanzado este lunes por la productora estadounidense Belly of the Beast.”
"It’s such a true dynasty,” said the documentary’s director Daniel Montero, a Cuban journalist with Belly of the Beast, an independent U.S.-based media outlet that covers Cuba. "I don’t know what it is about the Gurriels, but it seems to be in their blood.”
Little League Dreams Film Review
August 11, 2023
“Cuba has never competed in the Little League World Series. That will change this August when a team of youngsters from Bayamo, Granma make their way to Williamsport. Media upstart Belly of the Beast Cuba has followed the squad since their spring qualifying victory. Just in time for their LLWS debut they will debut a documentary chronicling Bayamo’s rise.”
“El foro y presentación fue sólo una escala de una gira por Estados Unidos de la periodista cubana que la llevó a Nueva York, Boston, Filadelfia, Baltimore y la capital nacional en abril con sus colegas de la empresa de medios independiente Belly of the Beast.”
Liz Oliva Fernández with Amy Goodman and Juan González
April 14, 2023
“I’d rather the United States and my government have conversations about what’s causing this huge wave of migration in the last year. The cause is the sanctions. So maybe in the future the Biden administration could have the will to talk about the real cause.”
“Our work is not just about the impact of the U.S. sanctions on the Cuban people and how they’re trying to overcome. We’re also trying to tell stories of resistance, of resilience, of the positive things that Cuba has to share with the world.”
Did Racism in Cuba Ignite the July 11th Protests?
August 4, 2021
“The blockade affects all Cubans, inside of Cuba and outside of Cuba. Nobody escapes the blockade. All of us are affected at some point. And Black communities are the most affected.”
“In the U.S., people on the right are using the frustration of Black people in Cuba to support the same U.S. sanctions that are affecting the people who are frustrated and angry in the streets. It’s hypocritical and cynical.”
“When you talk to people about why they were on the streets [on July 11], they talk about food and medicine and energy shortages. The primary reasons people took to the streets are economic.”
“The Cuban government doesn’t have any solutions because the sanctions have only increased during the Trump administration. Biden has done nothing to change the situation since he came to power.”
Reed Lindsay with Ryan Grim and Emily Jashinsky
July 14, 2021
“What people in the states should be worrying about is U.S. policy and its impact on the Cuban people. It’s had a devastating impact. And there’s one reason this policy is in place: to win votes in Florida.”
Daniel Montero with Amy Goodman and Juan González
July 14, 2021
“It’s a bit hypocritical" for U.S. politicians to express support for the Cuban people while maintaining sanctions on the country. We are in a crisis, and that crisis is largely due to the United States sanctions."
Reed Lindsay with ABC News’ Brad Mielke
July 13, 2021
“Even before COVID things were really bad here primarily due to U.S. sanctions…The U.S. government says they are punishing the state. But the ones who pay the price are the Cuban people.”
Reed Lindsay with ABC News’ Linsey Davis
July 12, 2021
“Some of these scarcities have to do with COVID. But a large part of it has to do with U.S. sanctions. Cuba was already in an economic crisis before COVID.”
“Yo sentía muchas veces la necesidad de contarle esto a los cubanos, porque aunque el bloqueo es un tema muy recurrente en los medios de comunicación, muchos no saben o no entienden lo que realmente significa.”
“We are thrilled to honor this incredible group of women who have demonstrated their commitment to sharing emotionally charged, timely and compelling content… DIGITAL MEDIA – GALA HONOREES: Liz Oliva Fernández (The War on Cuba) / Belly of the Beast / Online Video Host / Correspondent / Actress”
“Projects such as Belly of the Beast are bridging the gap in knowledge and dismantling US misinformation campaigns about Cuba’s realities for international English-speaking audiences.”
“What’s really remarkable about the vaccines and what Cuba has achieved in the last year is that Cuba right now is going through an unbelievable economic crisis. In part it’s because of COVID, but the sanctions have been absolutely devastating.”
The War on Cuba Documentary Tells the Story of the U.S. Embargo
December 7, 2020
“[Belly of the Beast] presents compelling, digestible background information in the spirit of investigative, deeply-researched journalism. But its true draw is its cinematography and the thoughtful, humanizing attention given to the people Fernández speaks with, whose lives have been touched by a devastating blockade for decades. The War on Cuba centers interviewees and Fernández as true experts on the relationship between Cuba and the U.S.”
The War on Cuba and Venezuela
October 19, 2020
“While mainstream coverage and even some Cubans blame the Cuban government for energy shortages, the U.S.’s role in creating the island’s energy crisis is rarely brought to light.”
Is the Cuba Blockade a Myth?
October 15, 2020
“The Cuban people have lived for almost sixty years with restrictions imposed by the United States government. Many times we do not even notice how much this policy affects us, because in a certain way we get used to so many decades of economic war along with the problems of our country, because no, it is not all the fault of the blockade. But it exists and its impact is real.”
"The nation's biggest battleground state is home to 1.5 million Cuban-Americans...Trump managed to squeeze out Hillary Clinton in Florida in 2016, and analysts say he likely needs to carry the state again to get a second term."
Belly of The Beast presents ‘The War on Cuba’
October 9, 2020
“The War on Cuba urges young people in the U.S. who are seeking global solidarity to reflect on their role in the fate of this country, that is just 90 miles away.”
US-Cuba Docuseries 'The War on Cuba' Premiers Friday
October 7, 2020
“Told through Oliva’s experience as a young Cuban woman, the series exposed the impacts of US policy on everyday life in Cuba, highlighting the political underpinnings affecting ordinary Cubans from all walks of life.”
Covid-19: Cuba défend l’internationalisme médical
October 7, 2020
“L’administration Trump décrit les équipes d’intervention médicale de Cuba comme des « esclaves ». Un journaliste de notre partenaire The Nation, au sein du site L’Internationale Progressiste, a demandé aux médecins leur avis.”
“The platform has already created informative videos that have been shared on YouTube including one about Cuban doctors serving in other countries and another featuring El Individuo, one of Cuba’s most outspoken rappers. The founders seek to not only uncover some of the island’s hidden stories but also shift the narrative around the political situation on the island, including the role of journalists.” - Amanda Alcántara
“The response of socialist Cuba to the global SARS-CoV2 pandemic has been outstanding both domestically and for its international contribution. That a small island nation, subjected to hundreds of years of colonialism and imperialism and, since the Revolution of 1959, six decades of the criminal United States blockade, can play such an exemplary role is due to Cuba’s socialist system.”
“For decades, Cuba has sent tens of thousands of its medical professionals abroad to work in countries where natural disasters or poverty have left people without healthcare. In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the catastrophic US response to it, the absurdity of a propaganda war against Cuban medical missions has become more obvious than ever. But you can’t rely on corporate media to explain why.”
“One morning along a street with cracked sidewalks and houses with fading paint, Dr. Liz Caballero and two medical students stopped at every door in that part of Havana’s Vedado district. During normal times, these neighborhood doctors practice preventative medicine. Now, they participate in a full-blown campaign against the COVID 19 pandemic.”
“Cuba’s medical collaboration is portrayed as Machiavellian, reduced to a PR ruse to deflect attention from Cuba’s internal human rights violations, a means of projecting soft power, or a way of meddling in other countries’ affairs…Such depictions never include the voice of the Cuban doctors who work in these missions. Over the last couple of months, I’ve spoken to dozens of doctors before their departure. Their words cut sharply against this picture.”
“Prevention is key to the successes of Cuba’s free and universal healthcare system, which is a direct result of the revolution’s progress. Some of their health achievements include one of the highest doctor-patient ratios in the world, a higher life expectancy rate than the U.S. and many so-called developed nations, accessible clinics in almost every neighborhood throughout the island, and the development of several successful vaccines and treatments.”
“Cuba enfrenta imensos desafios ao tentar retardar a disseminação do COVID-19. Nos últimos três anos, Trump apertou o embargo de quase 60 anos contra a ilha, devastando sua economia já frágil. A escassez de alimentos e remédios era comum antes da pandemia. Eles estão piores agora. No início deste mês, autoridades cubanas disseram que uma doação de máscaras faciais, kits de diagnóstico, ventiladores e luvas foi bloqueada quando a Avianca Airlines, uma empresa colombiana, se recusou a entregar a ajuda da China porque seu principal acionista estava sujeito a sanções dos EUA.”
Pandemic Journal: Havana, Cuba
April 27, 2020
“My confidence in Cuba is not rooted in numbers. Cuba has 862 cases, giving it an incidence rate 265 times lower than that of Blaine County, Idaho. (Cuba is at an earlier stage of contagion and cases are expected to increase at a more rapid pace in the coming weeks.) Instead, my assurance is based on the country’s public health system and its extensive network of dedicated, community-based doctors. Even with so many doctors abroad, 70,000 physicians remain in Cuba, giving the country one of the highest doctor-to-patient ratios in the world—more than double that of the US.”