Bistec: faith, patriotic fanaticism and surveillance in Cuba

• Español

Nuestro Studios, a division of Nuestro Stories, announced today the worldwide debut of the historical fiction podcast series Bistec, a universal, cautionary story of faith, patriotic fanaticism, and surveillance in Dystopian Cuba.

The eight-part limited series is launching with two episodes per week on Mondays in English and Spanish and is now available on all major podcast platforms, including YouTube in Spanish, and English, iTunes, Spotify, Audible and more. A visual trailer for the audio series, which represents the next stage of what producers believe will become a feature film, can be viewed here.

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‘Bistec’ is the riveting story of a longtime Cuban Revolutionary and what happens when one of the nation’s prominent dissidents moves into his neighborhood, exposing secrets, upending lives, and testing loyalties. Set during the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution in 2009, ‘Bistec’ unveils the contemporary world of Cuba’s enigmatic surveillance and snitches system, all within the framework of a compelling, emotional narrative filled with unexpected twists.

“Even though Bistec is rooted in Cuba, it is the story of MILLIONS of people who have no rights to privacy, and whose lives and very souls are subject to the whims of a Totalitarian state,” said series creator, writer and director Manuel Ruiz-Barrera. “With Bistec, we’re giving a global audience an opportunity to peer behind the facade of Cuban society with a sonic experience that is deeply cultural, profound, and even compassionate.”

Inspirations for ‘Bistec’

‘Bistec’ was inspired by stories from Cuba’s widely despised but little known Comités de Defensa de la Revolución (CDR), the neighborhood government apparatus Fidel Castro cherished so much he branded “the vanguard of the Revolution.”

Bistec also leans on events from the life of Micaela Ruiz, the late poet grandmother of writer Ruiz-Barrera, as well as the strange adventures he experienced during four documentary photography trips he made to Cuba in the early ‘90s. Prominent dissidents Amaury Pacheco del Monte, and his wife Iris Hernandez, co-founders of El Movimiento San Isidro, served as key story consultants and also play characters in the series.

Producers and castAdapted from a screenplay written 15 years ago by Ruiz-Barrera, and masterfully sound engineered and edited by Jaime Almiral, Jr, the series took 15 months to produce. In addition to Pacheco and Hernandez, the production was also anchored by Ernesto Fundora, who was an assistant director, associate producer, and story consultant, as well as Efrain Gonzalez, and Felix Montelara, who executive produced the series, and Elena Ruiz, who served as an associate producer.

Bistec features a Who’s Who of actors, musicians, and producers with more than 60 novelas and 12 feature film credits between them. The production team leads includes Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Peruvians, Mexicans, and Colombians.

Bistec talent represents every single generation of Cubans, including children of dissidents, TikTok influencer and hip-hop artist Jawndarko, and Venezuelan influencer and actress Laura Termini. The musical score of ‘Bistec’, ‘Canción de un Disidente’, was composed by nine-time EMMY-winning Maestro Alberto Bade, and features a beautiful performance by the University of Miami Orchestra.

The Spanish and English-language cast of ‘Bistec’ includes Albertico Pujol and Roberto Escobar as Echauri Suarez, Adrian Mas and Rene Granado as Orlando Contreras, Vivian Ruiz and Mayte Vilan as Micaela Martinez, Mauricio Renteria and Rene Lavan as Colonel Ramiro Roca, Laura Termini as Hortensia, Amaury Pacheco Del Monte and Robert Ramos as Vizcaino “El Bizco”, Andy Barbosa as Vladimir Suarez, Omar Gonzalez and Michael Ferreiro as Orlandito Contreras, Iris Hernandez and Maggie Zafra as Cecilia, and Alejandra Cossio and Melissa Ann Hubiscsak as Marlene Presley.

Bistec’s narrators were Ray Guiu, Gregg Weiner, and Scott Fortney. Additional voice actors include Frank Egusquiza, Teresa Rodriguez, Ramonín Veloz, Efrain Gonzalez, Cecilia “Ceci” Diaz Arguelle, Rick Najera, Julian Najera, Jeffrey Batista, Juan Camilo Jurado, Tanya Cecilia Diaz, Alex Hernandez, Naomi Ruiz, Briani Ruiz, Katherine Costa, Rameh Ali Echeverri, and Manuel Ruiz-Barrera.

Additional music was produced and/or performed by Federico Colloca, Elimir Colloca, Leandro Tresero y Luthier, Bernardo Izaguirre, Alfredo Chacon, Odalys Salina, Humberto Casanova, Juan A. Diaz, Lianet Ulloa, Lazaro Fundora, Pavel de la Noval, and Bernardo Izaguirre.

Additional executive producers include Armando Azarloza, Santiago Eljaiek, III, Lourdes Castillo and Angela Sustaita-Ruiz.

The poster for Bistec was designed by Hiram Henriquez. Casting was led by Ana Braga Morfi. Media and marketing distribution are being handled by Brilla Media Ventures, and Audio Dice Network.

The producers are grateful for the collaboration of the University of Miami School of Music, Ochenta Studio, Ralph Rivera, Celines Toribio, Katherine Costa, Robert Armband, and Piera Garibaldi. They are also grateful for the contributions of Iris Fraga, Pedro Fraga, Ravi Baichwal, Yolanda, and Jose Garcia, Michael Ortega, Sonia Diaz, and Cristy Clavijo-Kish.

Bistec was recorded at South Point Productions, and Panoramik Audio.

To learn more about Bistec or support the production for the film, follow @Bistec.Film on Instagram or visit our website at www.BistecFilm.com. Bistec is also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BistecFilm.

About Nuestro Stories

Nuestro Stories is the flagship media brand of Brilla Media Ventures, and was founded with the premise of celebrating Latino heritage, history and origins every day.

We provide engaging cultural content for multicultural marketers through our owned and operated platforms, Nuestro Stories, Nuestro Studios, and Brilla Latina. Our offerings also include programmatic advertising technology services for scalable media delivery, influencer marketing, creative studio services, and activations.

Nuestro Stories is led by Angela Sustaita-Ruiz and Manuel Ruiz-Barrera, creators of Hispanicize, and trailblazers in the Hispanic media, social and influencer marketing industries, the Latino press release wire industry, and the first network of Hispanic print media companies online.