Death and Destruction in Mad Orgy of Rioting

Radio Record, Volume VII, Issue 14, 13 October 1933, Page 3

Death and Destruction in Mad Orgy of Rioting

Reporters and Cameramen Face Death to Record Revolt in Cuban Capital.

Exclusive Story on Bloodiest Riot Experienced in Havana’s Stormy History.

Mad, hysterical mobs,‘ looting, killing, sweeping the city before them-such is the story that is now being flashed on the cinema screens of the world, told on the front pages of newspapersthe story of the Cuban revolt and the abdication of President Machado. Havana’s history has been a stormy one, but never has blood flowed so freely or the mob spirit been demonstrated so wildly as in the Cuban capital in the last few weeks. The story below was supplied to the "Radio Record" by the Paramount Film Service, and tells something of the terrible trials of reporters and cameramen during the orgy.

THE dramatic coup of the military in displacing Dr Geraldo Machado as president came none too sool: to deliver from peril some dozen or more newspape? correspondents and newsreel cameramen. Despite the antagonism of the Machadoists toward their activities. these men sent to the Press and screens of the world a record of one of the’ most gripping stories of recen: history; of blood and joy, destruction and vengeance. . fighting, cheering mobs sweeping the streets of Havana storming homes, looting, shouting, delirious. Raging fires, wildly cheering mobs, elaborate man: sions-their windows flung wide, inviting all to enter and get what they could for themselves-that wa~ Havana during the revolt. Among it all went thc busy cameramen, often pursued by the raging Machadoists, filming under the threat of death. There was another kind of danger too-the revolutionists were so proud of their work that a cameraman would be captured and dragged along to photograph them with their victims, The men took many gruesome pictures-fol-lowers of the abdicating president being hacked to death

in the streets, the tearing apart of the body of one of the secret police, the portiors being then paraded through the streets ; they obtained, too, shots of the slaying of Colonel Jiminez, chief of Machado’s secret police. When the rioting was at its height the newsreel men rushed to the airport to send their negatives back to New York., On arrival at the ground they were met by several thousand of the riot-’ ers, their cars were attacked, many were roughly handled, cameras and valuable film

were destroyed and equipment was smashed-and noses, too. Early the next morning a ’plane was obtained at Miami and flown secretly to Havana, the newsreel man was put out in a sthall launch, and in a few moments the ’plane was on its way back. All communications hetween the isolated cameramen and their chiefs had to be carried on in code, owing to the strict censorship _-President Machado was referred to in méssages as "Aunt Mary’-and innumerable tricks were resorted to by the caremamen to obtain their pictures, and to safeguard them once they were taken. "One cameraman was literaly hoisted into jail by the pants before a Cuban bayonet when he appeared in the streets of Havana with his camera. All the cameramen reported that at the start of the revolution they were placed under guard, and a strict ruling against filming was enforced by Machado. As the men were tot permitted by the guards to take their cameras out into the streets, they were sent the followig cable from headquarters: "Remove to Saratoga Hotel as nicer location. Get big airy room with plenty win-

dows, as it must be hot. it was worded thus to foil the strict censorship, and wes really a recommendation te the men to film from insicd: their hotels. The story of terror which the picture tells is one of personal heroism. more thai of anything else . ..cameramen, hunted from place to place by a mob they knew ‘would not stop at murder, yet finding time to set up their caméras and obtain for the world a convincing record of one of the most stirring struggles in years.