Santiago Álvarez Román (1919-1998) was an important Cuban documentary filmmaker in the 1960s who joined the filmmaking corps of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC). Although he never studied cinema, the filmmaker revolutionized the documentary language by denouncing imperialism and the violation of civil rights. From the accounts of people close to the director, we can understand why he was given the title of ‘Dziga Vertov of the Americas’, a true rare gem of Latin American cinema.