CUBAN ambassador Jose` Luis Robaina Garcia wants to make the relationship between his country and New Zealand tighter.
He’s hands on with his efforts and will make a speech at the Latin American Film Festival opening night.
“These films reflect Latin American tradition and culture but I feel New Zealanders will enjoy them.”
Garcia wants a sporting exchange between the two countries.
“We are willing to send four of the best Cuban baseball players or trainers in exchange for a rugby coach, because now that rugby is an Olympic sport we want to teach Cubans how to play and we want to improve our national team,” he says. “New Zealand is the strongest rugby country.”
Garcia is organising a Cuban festival in Wellington and wants to strengthen trade between the two countries, including looking at contracting a New Zealand company to help organisations with wind power installations.
At the moment New Zealand imports mostly Cuban cigars, medical products and coffee, worth about $1.2 million annually.
But every year Fonterra exports more than $150 million worth of milk powder to Cuba.  
Throughout the interview Garcia made reference to Canterbury’s earthquakes and empathised with those affected.
“Latin American people know the devastation as well as anyone,” he says. “Chile and Peru have a long history of earthquakes. Cuba has a lot of hurricanes and last year we had two in a week. One of those was measured at 340km/hr and destroyed all the crops. I sympathise with the Canterbury people.”
Garcia says New Zealand is a country that really appeals to many Latin Americans.
Cuba is also a growing tourist destination for New Zealanders, with almost 4000 Kiwis visiting the country last year.
October marks 50 years of the American embargo against Cuba, an issue New Zealand has voted at the United Nations to remove in the past.
But Garcia feels Cuba is moving forward.
“It is a very different country with Raul Castro as president. It’s very optimistic and the people are happy with life. Cuba is not heaven or hell it’s just reality.”
Latin American Film Festival, Film Archive, September 23-October 2.
Peter Moloney