The story of Cecilia is a story of the society that dominated 19th-century Cuba, a society divided between whites, blacks, and those who were mixed, the mulattos. (Since the Spanish conquistadors killed off the Indian population in Cuba not long after they took over the island, there are no mestizos, or those of mixed-Indian blood in Cuba as in other Caribbean nations.) At any rate, the drama about the life and loves of Cecilia (Daisy Granados) takes place against the backdrop of graphically violent mistreatment of slaves and the rumors of a slave rebellion after the Cubans hear of slaves turning against their captors in Haiti.
It is the story of a young man named Esteban, who was totally devoted to the cause of the Revolution against Fulgencio Batista. One day, Esteban is diagnosed with a cerebral aneurism, which causes him to take stock of his life as a revolutionary and to reconsider his relationships to his family--to his mother and brother, particularly--and his friends.
Four vignettes on the lives of the Cuban people in the pre-revolutionary era. In Havana, Maria is ashamed when a man she loves discovers how she makes a living. Pedro, an old farmer, discovers that the land he cultivates is being sold to an American company. A student sees his friends attacked by the police while they distribute leaflets supporting Fidel Castro. Finally, a peasant family is threatened by Batista's army.
Fishing captain suspects his wife of infidelity and runs her off. He sours on female companionship, but he gradually warms to the company of his village's new schoolteacher. Meanwhile...
Unethical industrialist gets taken down by a combination of forces including labor activists and a kill-crazy tribal Indian.