Set in early 1990s Cuba, Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz's coming-of-age drama, Los Frikis, centers on a group of punks in search of freedom. In 1961, Fidel Castro banned rock music in Cuba, but that didn't stop young people from exploring music behind closed doors. The anti-communist rock 'n' roll lovers found refuge in underground clubs where they met like-minded people and played music. Food and housing shortages, and a general lack of free will, pushed many young people to the brink. The AIDS epidemic was on the rise, and when young people discovered that sanatoriums provided food and shelter, they wondered if getting sick was their only option to live a dignified life.
Gustavo's only family was his older brother, Paco, after his father was murdered for disobeying authorities. They worked on the sugarcane plantation like their father, and every day they regretted being born in Cuba. Their only source of joy was rock and roll, which was technically prohibited, but they managed to listen to it by adjusting the radio frequency. They tried to make do with what little they had, but some days the hunger was unbearable, and they ended up killing stray cats to survive.
Directors: Tyler Nilson, Michael Schwartz
Writers: Michael Schwartz, Tyler Nilson
Stars: Héctor Medina, Eros de la Puente, Adria Arjona
Unlike Gustavo, who was empathetic and forgiving, Paco was strong-willed and capable of anything to survive. His uncle planned to reach Miami illegally by sea, but refused to take Paco with them. He believed Paco's bad temper would get them in trouble, and only offered Gustavo the chance to move to the United States. Paco was devastated, but happy for his younger brother and encouraged him to accept the opportunity. Since Paco had no family other than Gustavo, he decided to inject himself with the blood of an HIV-positive person so he could stay in the local sanatorium. Gustavo thought it was a terrible idea, but Paco thought it was better to be free for a few days than to be caged for life.
He also believed a cure would soon be discovered and that he would survive, but until then, he would do the only thing he loved: making music. Gustavo had boarded a makeshift boat headed to Miami, but the vessel was leaking. Gustavo sacrificed his dream of moving to the United States so that others could survive. He also couldn't imagine leaving his brother behind and decided to follow in Paco's footsteps. He injected himself with HIV-positive blood, but to his surprise, his results were negative. The doctor at the center suspected Gustavo's intentions and asked him directly why he was so determined to get a positive result.
When Gustavo explained his desperation to be reunited with his brother, the doctor took pity on him and offered him a fake certificate. Gustavo was sent to the same sanatorium as Paco and was overjoyed to see his older brother standing before him. Paco experienced the freedom he had always longed for at the sanatorium. Because the authorities feared contracting AIDS, there was no military presence in the sanatorium, and the place was run by María, a volunteer. Paco and his band members (all of whom were injected) performed regularly for the public, and their music was appreciated. Everyone contributed to the sustainability of the place and had a strong sense of community.
Las Frikas were harshly judged and mistreated in the outside world, and the sanatorium had become their refuge. The place was also welcoming to queer people, offering a sense of solace to those who had been marginalized their entire lives. Gustavo decided to hide the truth from his brother, fearing he would not be well received there and, moreover, would end up in prison if it got out. María discovered that Gustavo was not HIV-positive and initially planned to force him out of the sanatorium. But Gustavo refused to leave; he had no home or family outside, and he wasn't ready to say goodbye to Paco. María took pity on Gustavo. She, too, had fallen in love with him during the four months he'd been there, and decided to keep the secret. Maria volunteered to work at the sanatorium to care for her brother, and even after his death, she continued to help AIDS victims. She was previously married, but she and her husband eventually separated. She never thought she'd find love with an eighteen-year-old boy, but life was full of surprises.
Gustavo was heartbroken to wake up one day and discover María had disappeared. Paco explained that María and Yoslin were gone. María had taken Yoslin to Havana to try a new treatment. Yoslin was too afraid to tell Paco, fearing he would try to stop her. Both brothers had lost the women they had fallen in love with and had no one but each other to lean on. María was Gustavo's first love, and at that moment, he perhaps felt he couldn't live without her.
The painting Máximo had given Gustavo suddenly made sense: he had painted Gustavo and the wild horse he had tamed, but to the young man's surprise, there were bloodstains on the paper. The blood possibly symbolized inevitable death. Although Gustavo had managed to build a better life in the sanatorium, death lurked in the corner, waiting to ruin the most beautiful time of his life. The people he loved—his roommate, Nestor, his brother, and his lover—were slowly drifting away from him, and he didn't know how to stop it. Perhaps Maria wanted Gustavo to live his life beyond the sanatorium; that could also have been one of the reasons for her decision to leave.
He was young and had a lot of potential; she didn't want love to be his only reason for never venturing beyond that safe space. Six months had passed, and Maria was replaced by an indifferent soldier. The sanatorium was no longer what it once was; reality had taken over the place, and the hope that once kept everyone on their toes had completely dissipated. A sense of sadness dominated the space, and the residents waited for death to embrace them. When Gustavo saw a twelve-year-old boy enter the sanatorium, he remembered his early days. The boy was euphoric to have his own bed, and the promise of three meals a day was enough to make him smile. Like Gustavo, he, too, had gotten his injections. Gustavo wanted to tell him that the grass wasn't greener there, but he didn't want to take away the little hope he had. To escape the socialist lifestyle, young people were willing to risk their lives in the hope of surviving and, at the very least, avoiding intensive labor for a few years and obtaining all the nourishment their bodies needed.
At the end of The Freaks, Gustavo and Paco visited the beach. The younger brother told his brother that he had lied about being HIV-positive and that he was nothing but a fake. He also mentioned his affair with María, and Paco was pleasantly surprised. He didn't expect Gustavo to lie, but at the same time, he was glad that at least his brother survived. He thought Gustavo was the ultimate Freak for hiding such an important detail and for having a passionate affair with María, even though everyone believed he was beyond his reach.
Paco wasn't an easy person to get along with, but to Gustavo, he was a perfect brother who had always been there for him. Paco promised Gustavo that he would be fine and that death was inevitable. He had no money to move to the United States and no faith in Castro's vision; he could only live a little while he still had time. That's exactly what Paco did. The ending of Los Frikis hints at Paco's death; he disappeared at sea, giving us the idea that in death he found freedom. The final scene also suggests the loneliness Gustavo had to face.
It is estimated that between 200 and 500 Cubans intentionally injected themselves with HIV during the 1990s, and a large number of them were frikis. After enormous pressure from Los Frikis, Fidel Castro relaxed his ban on rock and roll. Los Frikis is both a tragedy and a story of resilience.
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