Cuban Documentary "Rumbo al Este" Premieres Second Season from China to Celebrate 65 Years of Relations

Havana, January 27 - From the first Chinese indentured laborers who arrived in Cuba in 1847 to the cooperation agreements that strengthen bilateral relations today, the history between Cuba and China is woven with threads of resistance, identity, and solidarity. Following the success of its first season, the documentary series "Rumbo al Este: Cuba y China, hermanos en el tiempo" (Heading East: Cuba and China, Brothers in Time) returns with a new installment, now from the heart of the Asian giant, to tell the profound and lasting connection that unites us.

This second season is part of the audiovisual project 65 latidos (65 Heartbeats), which honors six and a half decades of bilateral relations between Cuba and China. The season consists of eight episodes of 15 minutes each, including a special premiere.

The television broadcast premiere will begin on Wednesday, January 28, on the multi-screens of Cubavisión Internacional.

A team comprising journalists and screenwriters Valia Marquínez Sam and Cynthia Ibatao Ruiz, under the artistic and general direction of Gustavo Cuba Batista, filmed for a month in China. The journey included Beijing, Shanxi Province, and Guangdong—the cradle of the Chinese diaspora that arrived in Cuba in the 19th century.

Executive production was handled by Bárbara Doval and Marta Carvajal, while general production was led by Yamile López Medina with invaluable contribution and support from diplomatic missions in both countries.

The episodes address the historical ties between the parties, governments, and peoples of both countries, as well as the Chinese cultural heritage that enriched Cuban national identity in areas such as gastronomy, martial arts, the arts, sports, and education. Through testimonies, archival materials, and tours of emblematic sites, the series reveals how that heritage remains alive and is revitalized in the present.

Narration was provided by Adianez Salles, in work that combines journalistic rigor and visual sensitivity.

This season is a dual journey: geographical and emotional. "We wanted to show not only the official ties, but also those personal and family stories that built invisible bridges between both peoples," commented Cynthia Ibatao, one of the authors.

"Rumbo al Este" establishes itself as a necessary project in a world where dialogue between cultures is more urgent than ever. With unprecedented images, moving testimonies, and a narrative that honors shared memory, this second season promises to inform, move, and reaffirm why Cuba and China are, truly, brothers in time.