How We Made This

The film was intended as a study of three main characters, Fidel, Chupa and Alex, who essentially work together as a family in the rearing and training of roosters for illegal cockfights in Havana. What I found interesting about these particular characters is that although on the surface of it cockfighting would seem to be a thoroughly indefensible, cruel and ugly activity, the nature of these people is so contrary to any trace of viciousness that it ultimately becomes almost impossible not to start to feel some sympathy for their perspective on the bloodsport, and difficult finally not to become involved and share in the enjoyment of the drama of the fights themselves.
When I saw how warm, affectionate and open the trainers were with one another and their families, any preconceptions that I had about this being a sort of dirty, underground activity carried out by people of thug or gangster mentality soon disappeared and instead I began to appreciate the deeper, cultural significance of the fights, indeed the whole idea of bravery and machismo that is so central to the Cuban male character are perhaps most blatantly embodied by the fighting cocks. It is beyond question that for Fidel, Chupa and Alex the sport carries emotional and spiritual benefits that far outweigh any financial or material gains.
Alex best sums up these feelings in this extract from his interview "...when these animals are in the ring, when they're fighting, the emotion I feel is truly extraordinary. I can't do anything. I can't even speak. I grow cold all over. It is so overwhelming that my heart races. It's like a strong drug, something that controls me. I am so overwhelmed when they are fighting that I lose control of my senses. I see only the animal, everything else around me falls away. I am truly excited and when I see that one of my cocks is winning I get even more worked up. He may lose, at times they do lose, but as long as they have fought bravely, I am content. Whenever I have a good cock, a brave cock, I always feel emotional for him, win or lose. If he loses well of course I am sad, ... I feel totally devastated because this is everything to me. How do you feel when you lose your greatest love? And this is the thing I love most - the fighting cock. After my mother, this."