Cuban Animation Series "Las estrellas del General" Nominated for Latin American Television Awards

The Latin American Television Awards (TAL) represent the premier recognition for excellence in this field within the region. According to its website, the awards "promote and celebrate the excellence and quality of audiovisual content produced by public, educational, and cultural television broadcasters on the continent."

The TAL network comprises over 60 channels, including Cubavisión, the principal channel of Cuban Television, which has been nominated alongside six others in the animation category.

A Tribute to a National Hero

The nomination is for the animated series "Las estrellas del General," which aired this past summer on the national broadcaster. The seven-episode project delves into the life of the mambí (Cuban independence soldier) Quintín Bandera, who fought in all three of Cuba's wars for independence during the 19th century.

From Comic Book to Screen

The scripts, written by author Omar Felipe Mauri from Bejucal, originated from a comic book which the author published in 2015, with illustrations by Maikel García Díaz. Although the series was conceived during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was this summer that the Cubavisión Channel Animation Studios brought this project to the screen.

The audiovisual production was directed by Jesús Rubio Molina and featured designs by Edgar Ortega, Israel Ugarte, and Armando Quintana. It included a soundtrack by composer Enrique "Kiki" Corona and featured Magda González Grau—known for works such as "¿Por qué lloran mis amigas?" and the series "Calendario"—as the dubbing director. The voice cast included artists such as Luis Enrique Carreres, Eman Xor Oña, Mario Rodríguez Tarife, Vicky Suárez, and Clarita García, among others.

The Competition

"Las estrellas del General" competes with other nominees such as "Boca sucia" from NTV Chile; "Happy Reef" from Canal Teleislas in Colombia—a country with two additional nominations: "La Banda de Andy" from Canal Trece and "Zoe y los hilos del Tiempo" from the channel of the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies. The selection is completed by the productions "Mujeres haciendo historia" from Canal Catorce in Mexico; and "Tierra de dinos" from TEC channel in Argentina.