WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.799 OK, picture this. It's the 1930s. We're in Havana. 00:00:03.160 --> 00:00:06.339 The heat is just it's everywhere. The political 00:00:06.339 --> 00:00:08.800 tension is simmering and the music, the jazz 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:12.580 is loud, aggressive. Now, in the middle of all 00:00:12.580 --> 00:00:15.019 that, you have a trumpet player. He's also an 00:00:15.019 --> 00:00:17.260 aspiring revolutionary. I mean, that sounds like 00:00:17.260 --> 00:00:19.800 the setup for a pretty serious historical drama. 00:00:19.859 --> 00:00:21.920 It is. Yeah, it has all the makings of a noir 00:00:21.920 --> 00:00:24.219 film or, you know, a heavy period piece. But 00:00:24.219 --> 00:00:26.739 then you look closer because this trumpet player, 00:00:26.859 --> 00:00:30.350 he isn't just a guy. He's the grandson of Count 00:00:30.350 --> 00:00:32.630 Dracula. And the kicker is? He has absolutely 00:00:32.630 --> 00:00:35.950 no idea that he's a vampire. None. And that is 00:00:35.950 --> 00:00:38.130 the wild premise of the film we are unpacking 00:00:38.130 --> 00:00:41.030 today. It's called Vampires in Havana, or in 00:00:41.030 --> 00:00:43.250 the original Spanish, Vampires en La Habana. 00:00:43.450 --> 00:00:45.329 I have to say, when I first saw the title, I 00:00:45.329 --> 00:00:46.689 thought, okay, this is going to be a mess. A 00:00:46.689 --> 00:00:49.890 1985 animated film that's a horror, a comedy, 00:00:49.990 --> 00:00:52.990 a political satire, and for adults. It sounds 00:00:52.990 --> 00:00:55.210 like way too many ingredients in the pot. Exactly. 00:00:55.490 --> 00:00:59.159 But somehow, it works. Oh, it works remarkably 00:00:59.159 --> 00:01:01.920 well. It's a cult classic for a reason. And our 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:04.280 mission today is to really get into the gears 00:01:04.280 --> 00:01:06.799 of this thing. We want to understand how a movie 00:01:06.799 --> 00:01:12.299 about a trumpet -loving vampire tells this genuinely 00:01:12.299 --> 00:01:15.500 complex story about... economics international 00:01:15.500 --> 00:01:19.640 conspiracies and freedom it's so wild it's slapstick 00:01:19.640 --> 00:01:21.959 one minute and then suddenly it's a spy thriller 00:01:21.959 --> 00:01:25.420 with like actual stakes precisely it uses these 00:01:25.420 --> 00:01:27.659 genre tropes the vampire movie the gangster film 00:01:27.659 --> 00:01:29.920 to deliver something totally unique it's just 00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:33.079 a vehicle for satire that hits on so many levels 00:01:33.079 --> 00:01:35.359 so let's start with the basics who actually made 00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:38.219 this because it feels so specifically cuban the 00:01:38.219 --> 00:01:40.519 humor the setting but the production credits 00:01:40.519 --> 00:01:43.659 are a bit of a mix that is a key point right 00:01:43.719 --> 00:01:45.159 Right out of the gate. This was not just a local 00:01:45.159 --> 00:01:47.120 production. It was directed by Juan Padron, who's 00:01:47.120 --> 00:01:49.260 a legend in Cuban animation, and he co -wrote 00:01:49.260 --> 00:01:51.400 it. But if you look at the companies involved, 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:54.700 it's a fascinating international effort. You 00:01:54.700 --> 00:01:57.239 have the Cuban Film Institute, ICAC, which you'd 00:01:57.239 --> 00:01:59.819 expect. But you also have Televisión Española 00:01:59.819 --> 00:02:02.519 from Spain. Okay, that makes sense. Shared language, 00:02:02.579 --> 00:02:04.579 cultural ties. I can see that. But then you also 00:02:04.579 --> 00:02:08.659 have Manfred Derniak production from West Germany. 00:02:09.069 --> 00:02:12.530 Wait, West Germany in 1985? Working with a state 00:02:12.530 --> 00:02:15.310 -run institute in communist Cuba? Exactly. This 00:02:15.310 --> 00:02:17.430 is the height of the Cold War. You have a capitalist 00:02:17.430 --> 00:02:20.430 democracy and a communist state co -producing 00:02:20.430 --> 00:02:23.669 a vampire cartoon. It really speaks to the unique 00:02:23.669 --> 00:02:26.110 position this film holds. Wow. It just managed 00:02:26.110 --> 00:02:28.310 to cross these hard ideological borders to get 00:02:28.310 --> 00:02:30.650 made, and that international flavor actually 00:02:30.650 --> 00:02:33.009 bleeds into the plot itself, which we'll get 00:02:33.009 --> 00:02:35.229 to. That is wild to think about. And speaking 00:02:35.229 --> 00:02:37.110 of things that shouldn't work but do the sound. 00:02:37.719 --> 00:02:40.319 The trumpet playing. Oh, yeah. Usually in animation 00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:42.520 from this era, especially lower budget stuff, 00:02:42.659 --> 00:02:44.740 you get some generic brass recording. Right, 00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:47.680 some stock music. But here, the trumpet performances 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:50.639 are by Arturo Sandoval. The legendary Arturo 00:02:50.639 --> 00:02:52.639 Sandoval. That just blows my mind. For anyone 00:02:52.639 --> 00:02:55.219 listening who isn't a jazz aficionado, this is 00:02:55.219 --> 00:02:57.520 like having, I don't know, Jimi Hendrix play 00:02:57.520 --> 00:03:00.419 the guitar solos for a cartoon character. It 00:03:00.419 --> 00:03:03.460 really is. Sandoval's a ten -time Grammy winner, 00:03:03.639 --> 00:03:07.759 a protege of Dizzy Gillespie. In 85, he was still 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:11.740 in Cuba, part of the group Irakere. So when you 00:03:11.740 --> 00:03:13.699 see the main character, Pepe, playing a solo 00:03:13.699 --> 00:03:16.240 that sounds like it's tearing the roof off, that 00:03:16.240 --> 00:03:18.919 is real virtuosity you're hearing. It instantly 00:03:18.919 --> 00:03:21.259 elevates the whole thing. You're watching this 00:03:21.259 --> 00:03:23.840 cartoon vampire, but you're hearing world -class 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:27.699 jazz. It gives the film this incredible pulse. 00:03:27.819 --> 00:03:29.960 It grounds Pepe's character in something real. 00:03:30.330 --> 00:03:32.550 His passion is music. And when you hear that 00:03:32.550 --> 00:03:34.810 caliber of performance, you believe it. You get 00:03:34.810 --> 00:03:37.909 why music drives him more than, well, vampirism 00:03:37.909 --> 00:03:39.770 does. And we should shout out the voice actors, 00:03:39.889 --> 00:03:42.289 too. Frank Gonzalez voices the lead, Pepe. He 00:03:42.289 --> 00:03:44.430 does. He voices Pepe or Pepito. And actually 00:03:44.430 --> 00:03:46.169 a few other characters, too. Very versatile. 00:03:46.330 --> 00:03:48.930 And you have Manuel Marine and Irila Bravo rounding 00:03:48.930 --> 00:03:51.150 out the main cast. So let's talk about Pepe. 00:03:51.330 --> 00:03:54.430 Or, to use his full name, Joseph Fimideas von 00:03:54.430 --> 00:03:56.909 Dracula. Ah, yeah. A heavy name to carry around 00:03:56.909 --> 00:03:58.530 Havana. Especially when you don't know you're 00:03:58.530 --> 00:04:00.780 carrying it. So walk us through his life. What's 00:04:00.780 --> 00:04:02.639 his day to day before the plot really kicks in? 00:04:02.740 --> 00:04:05.419 Well, on the surface, he's just a young guy in 00:04:05.419 --> 00:04:08.560 1930s Havana. He plays trumpet in a band, but 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:11.780 he's also politically active. The source material 00:04:11.780 --> 00:04:14.080 calls him an aspiring terrorist, which is a strong 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:16.399 term. Right. But in the film, he's basically 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:19.019 in the underground resistance against the dictator 00:04:19.019 --> 00:04:22.209 Gerardo Machado. So he's a revolutionary. Planting 00:04:22.209 --> 00:04:24.310 bombs, running from the police, that kind of 00:04:24.310 --> 00:04:26.149 thing. He is. He's trying to change his country. 00:04:26.430 --> 00:04:29.730 But the irony, the central joke is that his biological 00:04:29.730 --> 00:04:32.649 reality is completely different. He is a vampire. 00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:36.600 He is Dracula's grandson. But he walks around 00:04:36.600 --> 00:04:39.019 in the sun. He drinks rum. He's a daywalker. 00:04:39.259 --> 00:04:41.300 And he doesn't think that's weird. He has no 00:04:41.300 --> 00:04:43.319 frame of reference for it. See, he's been raised 00:04:43.319 --> 00:04:46.079 by his uncle, Werner Amadeus von Dracula. That's 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:48.560 Count Dracula's son. And Werner has been using 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:50.699 Pepe as a test subject since he was a kid. Ah, 00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:53.379 so this is the mad scientist part of the story. 00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:56.060 Exactly. Uncle Werner has created a formula that's 00:04:56.060 --> 00:04:59.220 called vampisol. Vampisol. Sounds like a brand 00:04:59.220 --> 00:05:01.259 of sunscreen. That's pretty much what it is. 00:05:01.319 --> 00:05:03.439 But on a biological level. Yeah. It negates the 00:05:03.439 --> 00:05:05.839 fatal effects of sunlight on vampires. Because 00:05:05.839 --> 00:05:07.420 Pepe's been getting this his whole life. He just 00:05:07.420 --> 00:05:09.839 lives normally. He has no idea that without it, 00:05:09.860 --> 00:05:13.220 he'd turn to dust. So Uncle Werner has basically 00:05:13.220 --> 00:05:16.540 cured vampirism's biggest weakness. He has solved 00:05:16.540 --> 00:05:19.860 the primary problem of their existence. And this 00:05:19.860 --> 00:05:22.240 is where the plot shifts from a character study 00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:25.579 to an international thriller. Because a product 00:05:25.579 --> 00:05:29.189 that lets vampires walk in the sun. That's incredibly 00:05:29.189 --> 00:05:31.250 valuable. Be dangerous. Depending on who you 00:05:31.250 --> 00:05:34.029 ask. And this is where the film introduces its 00:05:34.029 --> 00:05:36.649 antagonists. I love this setup. It's really a 00:05:36.649 --> 00:05:38.850 tale of two cartels. Right. You've got the Chicago 00:05:38.850 --> 00:05:42.149 mob and the European group. And they both want 00:05:42.149 --> 00:05:44.689 the formula, but for completely opposite reasons. 00:05:45.230 --> 00:05:48.550 This part felt like an Economics 101 lesson disguised 00:05:48.550 --> 00:05:51.009 as a vampire war. It totally is. Let's look at 00:05:51.009 --> 00:05:53.250 the Chicago Syndicate first. They're led by a 00:05:53.250 --> 00:05:56.089 vampire mobster named Johnny Terori. Johnny Terori. 00:05:56.149 --> 00:06:00.550 Very subtle. Very. Now, the Chicago group, they 00:06:00.550 --> 00:06:04.389 own a monopoly on indoor artificial beach resorts 00:06:04.389 --> 00:06:07.230 for vampires. Okay, stop. We have to unpack that. 00:06:07.470 --> 00:06:10.970 So vampires want a beach day, but they can't. 00:06:11.029 --> 00:06:15.730 So the mob builds fake beaches in, what, basements? 00:06:15.850 --> 00:06:18.730 And charges admission. Exactly. It's a captive 00:06:18.730 --> 00:06:20.910 market. If you're a vampire and you want a vacation, 00:06:21.170 --> 00:06:23.589 you have to pay the Chicago Syndicate to sit 00:06:23.589 --> 00:06:26.810 under a sunlamp in a dark room. So, if Vampisol 00:06:26.810 --> 00:06:29.829 gets out and vampires can just go to a real beach 00:06:29.829 --> 00:06:32.750 for free? The Chicago business model collapses 00:06:32.750 --> 00:06:35.550 overnight. Nobody's going to pay for a fake beach 00:06:35.550 --> 00:06:38.029 when the real one is available. So their motivation 00:06:38.029 --> 00:06:40.430 is suppression. They want to find the formula 00:06:40.430 --> 00:06:42.629 and destroy it. They're protecting their monopoly 00:06:42.629 --> 00:06:45.970 by stifling innovation. It's a classic protectionist 00:06:45.970 --> 00:06:48.459 move. It's the incumbent industry fighting the 00:06:48.459 --> 00:06:51.040 disruptor. Now, contrast that with the European 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:53.519 group. The multinational vampire. Right. They 00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:55.540 see vampisol completely differently. To them, 00:06:55.560 --> 00:06:57.319 vampisol is a product. They want to manufacture 00:06:57.319 --> 00:06:59.879 it, package it, and sell it. So they see dollar 00:06:59.879 --> 00:07:02.699 signs in mass distribution. Precisely. So you 00:07:02.699 --> 00:07:04.819 have Pepe caught in the middle. On one side, 00:07:04.939 --> 00:07:06.819 the mobsters who want to kill the formula to 00:07:06.819 --> 00:07:09.740 save their old industry. On the other, the capitalists 00:07:09.740 --> 00:07:11.759 who want to exploit it for a new one. And Pepe 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:13.980 just wants to play his trumpet and overthrow 00:07:13.980 --> 00:07:16.980 the government. And, well, stay alive. Which 00:07:16.980 --> 00:07:19.540 leads to this wild chase through the seediest 00:07:19.540 --> 00:07:21.920 neighborhoods of Havana. Pepe learns about his 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:25.110 heritage. the formula and suddenly everyone is 00:07:25.110 --> 00:07:27.990 after him and that chaotic energy must be where 00:07:27.990 --> 00:07:30.430 the animation style really shines it creates 00:07:30.430 --> 00:07:32.149 a great backdrop you have the texture of the 00:07:32.149 --> 00:07:35.129 city the music and these supernatural forces 00:07:35.129 --> 00:07:37.949 colliding with gangsters it's a clash of aesthetics 00:07:37.949 --> 00:07:40.819 that mirrors the clash of ideologies So let's 00:07:40.819 --> 00:07:43.019 jump to the climax, because this is where the 00:07:43.019 --> 00:07:45.100 vampire rules get flipped on their head in a 00:07:45.100 --> 00:07:47.879 way I did not see coming. Pepe and his girlfriend 00:07:47.879 --> 00:07:50.399 Lola are cornered. Right. They're trapped by 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:53.199 the Chicago cartel and Johnny Terori. And Terori 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:56.079 thinks he's won. He has Pepe. And he decides 00:07:56.079 --> 00:07:58.959 to be a gracious host before he kills him. In 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:02.680 a way. He offers Pepe a last drink. And specifically, 00:08:02.740 --> 00:08:05.800 he offers him O positive blood. Which, in the 00:08:05.800 --> 00:08:07.660 movie's logic, is like the vintage champagne 00:08:07.660 --> 00:08:10.540 of blood for vampires. The good stuff. The most 00:08:10.540 --> 00:08:13.579 delicious. So Terori hands it to him, expecting 00:08:13.579 --> 00:08:16.000 this moment of, you know, vampire satisfaction. 00:08:16.579 --> 00:08:20.100 And Pepe takes a sip and spits it out. Spits 00:08:20.100 --> 00:08:23.060 it out in disgust. He hates it. He's a rum and 00:08:23.060 --> 00:08:25.199 roast pork kind of guy. Imagine the confusion. 00:08:25.480 --> 00:08:28.899 You're a vampire mob boss, you've cornered Dracula's 00:08:28.899 --> 00:08:32.279 grandson, and he thinks blood is gross. But this 00:08:32.279 --> 00:08:35.019 reaction triggers something for Terori. He's 00:08:35.019 --> 00:08:38.220 not just a thug, he's smart. He starts connecting 00:08:38.220 --> 00:08:41.379 the dots. Let's list them. Okay, first, obviously 00:08:41.379 --> 00:08:44.279 Pepe hates the taste of blood. Second, earlier 00:08:44.279 --> 00:08:46.779 in the film, Pepe got hit by a lead bullet and 00:08:46.779 --> 00:08:48.799 it actually hurt him. And vampires are supposed 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:51.399 to be vulnerable to silver, right? Not lead. 00:08:51.620 --> 00:08:54.600 Correct. And third, the big one, Pepe can walk 00:08:54.600 --> 00:08:57.450 in the sun. So Terori does the math. He realizes 00:08:57.450 --> 00:08:59.870 the vampiso formula doesn't just block the sun. 00:08:59.990 --> 00:09:02.389 It's not a shield. It fundamentally changes the 00:09:02.389 --> 00:09:05.210 user. It turns them into humans. Exactly. Uncle 00:09:05.210 --> 00:09:07.389 Werner didn't just create a sunscreen. He created 00:09:07.389 --> 00:09:10.690 a cure. Or at least he altered their biology 00:09:10.690 --> 00:09:13.009 so much they ceased to be vampires. And this 00:09:13.009 --> 00:09:15.250 changes everything for the Chicago mob. Instantly. 00:09:15.429 --> 00:09:17.870 Tory loses all interest. He calls the formula 00:09:17.870 --> 00:09:20.549 worthless. Because if it turns vampires into 00:09:20.549 --> 00:09:22.750 humans, they're not his customer base anymore. 00:09:22.990 --> 00:09:25.090 He can't sell them fake beach trips if they're 00:09:25.090 --> 00:09:27.860 just people. It destroys the market entirely. 00:09:28.200 --> 00:09:30.840 If your customers stop existing as a distinct 00:09:30.840 --> 00:09:34.100 group, you have no business. It's like if a company 00:09:34.100 --> 00:09:36.679 cured a chronic disease permanently, they lose 00:09:36.679 --> 00:09:39.039 all that recurring revenue. That is such a funny, 00:09:39.080 --> 00:09:42.480 cynical twist. He goes from I must destroy this 00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:45.240 to I don't even care about this. But the conflict 00:09:45.240 --> 00:09:47.750 isn't over. Because the Europeans are still there. 00:09:47.870 --> 00:09:49.610 Yeah. And they're still looking for a way to 00:09:49.610 --> 00:09:52.230 make a profit. Right. And the solution they come 00:09:52.230 --> 00:09:54.470 up with is the most corporate thing I've ever 00:09:54.470 --> 00:09:57.269 heard. It is pure satire. The European leader 00:09:57.269 --> 00:10:00.990 suggests a compromise with the Chicago mob. They 00:10:00.990 --> 00:10:04.250 propose that they market vampazol, but, and this 00:10:04.250 --> 00:10:07.250 is the key, they encourage vampires to take only 00:10:07.250 --> 00:10:09.889 small amounts. Just enough to go to a real beach 00:10:09.889 --> 00:10:12.149 in the summer. Exactly. Take a little bit in 00:10:12.149 --> 00:10:14.330 the summer, visit real beaches, feel free. But 00:10:14.330 --> 00:10:16.750 in the winter, stop taking it. and go back to 00:10:16.750 --> 00:10:18.529 the Chicago artificial beaches. So they want 00:10:18.529 --> 00:10:20.769 to collude, split the market, we'll sell the 00:10:20.769 --> 00:10:23.169 drug, you sell the resort, and we keep the vampires 00:10:23.169 --> 00:10:26.289 dependent on both. It's a cartel agreement. They 00:10:26.289 --> 00:10:28.029 want to manage the cure so it doesn't actually 00:10:28.029 --> 00:10:31.350 cure anyone permanently, turn a cure into a treatment 00:10:31.350 --> 00:10:34.070 plan. Man, that hits a little close to home. 00:10:34.309 --> 00:10:37.029 It does. It's a critique of how industries often 00:10:37.029 --> 00:10:39.789 prefer managing a problem for profit rather than 00:10:39.789 --> 00:10:43.049 solving it. It's Padron using vampires to critique 00:10:43.049 --> 00:10:46.289 modern capitalism. But Pepe. Pepe is a revolutionary 00:10:46.289 --> 00:10:49.289 at heart. He is not signing off on a corporate 00:10:49.289 --> 00:10:52.789 merger. No way. Pepe pulls an anarchist move. 00:10:53.090 --> 00:10:55.669 He realizes the only way to break the power of 00:10:55.669 --> 00:10:58.330 both cartels is to make the information free. 00:10:58.590 --> 00:11:01.049 Open source. He goes to a radio station. Yeah. 00:11:01.110 --> 00:11:04.250 And he doesn't just read the formula. He sings 00:11:04.250 --> 00:11:06.210 it. Of course he sings it. He's got our Puro 00:11:06.210 --> 00:11:08.710 Sandoval's trumpet shocks. He sings the instructions 00:11:08.710 --> 00:11:12.190 for preparing vampazol to the entire world. But 00:11:12.190 --> 00:11:14.980 he adds a crucial warning. Which is? He tells 00:11:14.980 --> 00:11:17.539 the vampires to use it scaringly. So they don't 00:11:17.539 --> 00:11:20.240 accidentally turn human. Exactly. He gives them 00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:22.460 the power to choose. They can be daywalkers without 00:11:22.460 --> 00:11:24.379 losing their identity as long as they're careful. 00:11:24.539 --> 00:11:26.919 He gives them informed consent. And because he 00:11:26.919 --> 00:11:29.539 broadcasts it to everyone? The formula becomes 00:11:29.539 --> 00:11:32.100 financially worthless. You can't sell something 00:11:32.100 --> 00:11:33.539 everyone knows how to make in their kitchen. 00:11:33.639 --> 00:11:36.240 The Europeans can't market it, and the Chicago 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:39.220 mob can't suppress it. The cat's out of the bag. 00:11:39.419 --> 00:11:42.409 Both cartels are defeated. Not by a stake through 00:11:42.409 --> 00:11:44.649 the heart, but by information sharing. It's a 00:11:44.649 --> 00:11:47.210 victory for the public domain. The market value 00:11:47.210 --> 00:11:50.830 of The Secret just drops to zero. That is a wildly 00:11:50.830 --> 00:11:54.210 satisfying ending for a vampire comedy. The little 00:11:54.210 --> 00:11:57.210 guy winning against massive conglomerates just 00:11:57.210 --> 00:11:59.750 by using the airwaves. It ties up all the themes 00:11:59.750 --> 00:12:02.129 perfectly. And it's not preachy. It's just a 00:12:02.129 --> 00:12:04.649 really catchy song that ruins a monopoly. And 00:12:04.649 --> 00:12:06.610 the movie doesn't just end there, right? There's 00:12:06.610 --> 00:12:08.929 a little meta joke at the end. Yes. The film 00:12:08.929 --> 00:12:11.870 breaks the fourth wall. a vampire addresses the 00:12:11.870 --> 00:12:13.929 audience directly. What do they say? They warn 00:12:13.929 --> 00:12:16.690 you. They say, be careful, because that guy sitting 00:12:16.690 --> 00:12:19.389 next to you on the beach might just be a vampire. 00:12:19.690 --> 00:12:22.549 I love that, because now, thanks to Pepe's song, 00:12:22.789 --> 00:12:24.990 they could be anyone. They just blend right in. 00:12:25.070 --> 00:12:28.470 Exactly. So, vampires in Havana, what a ride. 00:12:28.669 --> 00:12:30.649 And apparently that wasn't the end of the story. 00:12:30.950 --> 00:12:33.769 No, the legacy continued. There was a sequel 00:12:33.769 --> 00:12:37.659 released much later. in 2003, called Maz Vampiros 00:12:37.659 --> 00:12:40.480 and La Habana More Vampires in Havana. Simple 00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:43.320 title. Does what it says on the tin. It does. 00:12:43.539 --> 00:12:46.659 It shows the world Juan Padrón created had enough 00:12:46.659 --> 00:12:48.679 depth to revisit. You know what I love about 00:12:48.679 --> 00:12:52.899 this is how it took a B -movie premise vampire 00:12:52.899 --> 00:12:57.500 gangsters in Cuba and revealed this smart satirical 00:12:57.500 --> 00:12:59.700 layer underneath. It's a great reminder that 00:12:59.700 --> 00:13:01.960 animation is often one of the best mediums for 00:13:01.960 --> 00:13:04.379 satire. You could exaggerate reality to make 00:13:04.379 --> 00:13:06.559 a point about it. Yeah. By making them vampires, 00:13:06.779 --> 00:13:09.399 Padron could talk about capitalism and revolution 00:13:09.399 --> 00:13:12.230 in a way that was funny. but also biting. It 00:13:12.230 --> 00:13:14.429 makes you think. The whole struggle was about 00:13:14.429 --> 00:13:16.710 a formula that could change lives, and the powers 00:13:16.710 --> 00:13:18.730 that be just wanted to figure out how to monetize 00:13:18.730 --> 00:13:21.590 it or bury it. It raises that provocative question. 00:13:22.110 --> 00:13:24.629 In our own world, are there vampisol formulas 00:13:24.629 --> 00:13:26.450 out there? Are there solutions, technological, 00:13:26.830 --> 00:13:29.490 medical, social, that are being suppressed or 00:13:29.490 --> 00:13:32.309 managed just to keep existing industries profitable? 00:13:32.570 --> 00:13:34.850 That is a thought to chew on. Maybe the real 00:13:34.850 --> 00:13:36.929 vampires were the monopolies we met along the 00:13:36.929 --> 00:13:38.549 way. I think there's a strong argument for that. 00:13:38.649 --> 00:13:41.289 Well, on that note. We're going to wrap up this 00:13:41.289 --> 00:13:44.889 deep dive into vampires in Havana. I hope you 00:13:44.889 --> 00:13:46.789 enjoyed this trip to the Caribbean underworld 00:13:46.789 --> 00:13:49.409 as much as we did. I know I'll be looking at 00:13:49.409 --> 00:13:50.950 people on the beach a little differently this 00:13:50.950 --> 00:13:52.769 summer. Just check if they're wearing exceptionally 00:13:52.769 --> 00:13:55.850 strong sunscreen. Will do. Thanks for listening, 00:13:55.889 --> 00:13:57.029 and we'll catch you on the next one.