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Thursday, March 23, 2017

My Dream Was to Become a Cameraman

"My Dream Was to Become a Cameraman" / Cubanet

My name is Ángel Martínez and my dream was to become a cameraman. I
always thought about photography. Just like you, my friends made fun of
me, but I was stubborn and I started to work as a television assistant
in 1954. I got to know the best of the culture of that time. At work, I
was the first one in and the last one out. That's how I climbed up the
ladder till I earned the title of cameraman (…)

Many years later in the middle of the Special Period [the early 1990s],
they retired me. They explained that they were concerned about me making
a mistake behind the cameras, and that I was of retirement age. They
gave me this bicycle, which helps me get around and sell my goods [on
the bike are paper cones filled with peanuts]. It's not a lot of money
but it's some. At least enough to pay taxes and keep a little over 260
pesos, which is my pension. They convinced me, but I swear that even now
that the equipment is more modern, as long as I'm mentally fit, I will
keep on dreaming.

Translated by Maite Arias, Tamara Belmeni and Jorge Caceres

Source: "My Dream Was to Become a Cameraman" / Cubanet – Translating
Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/my-dream-was-to-become-a-cameraman-cubanet/

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