''El Súper'' is a 1979

Spanish-language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

comedy-drama film directed by

Leon Ichaso Leon Ichaso (August 3, 1948 – May 21, 2023) was a Cuban-born American writer and film director. Some of his prominent works included '' El Super'', ''Crossover Dreams'', '' Bitter Sugar,'' '' Piñero'', and '' El Cantante''. Biography Early l ...

and Orlando Jiménez Leal, based on a stage play by

Iván Acosta Iván Acosta Montalván is a Nicaraguan politician and the Minister of Finance in the administration of Daniel Ortega since February 2012. Acosta was born in Bluefields on 28 September 1964. He has degrees in economics, and law, and a master's d ...

. The film is a look at life in the U.S. from the perspective of frustrated

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n exiles.

Plot summary

Roberto and Aurelia are ten-year exiles from Castro's Cuba, now residing in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

with their 17-year-old daughter Aurelita. Roberto has become the

super Super may refer to: Computing * SUPER (computer program), or Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer, a video converter/player * Super (computer science), a keyword in object-oriented programming languages * Super key (keyboard butto ...

of the building in which he lives, with the troubles of his tenants and his overall discontentment with his current living situation driving the plot of the film. He and his wife have trouble understanding their daughter, who smokes

pot Pot may refer to: Containers * Flowerpot, a container in which plants are cultivated * Pottery, ceramic containers made from clay * Cooking pot, a type of cookware * Pot, a beer glass Places * Ken Jones Aerodrome, IATA airport code POT * ...

and likes to disco dance; this is further compounded by the problems she gets into during the latter half of the film, including a pregnancy scare with potentially multiple men. Roberto spends the majority of the film conversing with other exiles, such as Pancho, a fellow Cuban, and Cuco, an exile from Puerto Rico; he also tries to find a way to move to Miami to escape from New York, as he feels that, despite the escape from Cuba, that this was a waste of his past ten years and seeks to live out the remainder of his life in peace. After Roberto makes his wish come true by finding a factory job in the area, he celebrates both his wife's birthday and the family's moving out with a grand party; the ending of the film has Roberto desperately laughing in the dim basement, playing further into the isolation he's felt in the past decade.

Cast

* Raimundo Hidalgo-Gato as "El Super" *

Zully Montero Clara Zully Montero (; born January 25, 1944) is a Cuban actress who has worked in television, film, and theatre. Biography Montero was born in Santo Suarez, Cuba. At the age of 11, Montero gathered a group of friends and created her own play ...

as Aurelia *

Elizabeth Peña Elizabeth Maria Peña (September 23, 1959 – October 14, 2014) was an American actress. Her film credits include '' Down and Out in Beverly Hills'' (1986), '' Batteries Not Included'', '' La Bamba'' (both 1987), ''Jacob's Ladder'' (1990) ...

as Aurelita * Reynaldo Medina as Pancho * Juan Granda as Cuco * Hilda Lee as La China * Phil Joint as Inspector * Jaime Soriano as Preacher

External links

* 1979 films 1970s Spanish-language films American comedy-drama films 1979 directorial debut films Films directed by Leon Ichaso 1970s English-language films 1970s American films 1979 comedy-drama films English-language comedy-drama films {{1970s-comedy-drama-film-stub