Hong Kong

Frank Gonzáles Guerra

Get to know this year's face of the Volume 10!

Never Stop Surfing is the motto of the up-and-coming surfing community in Cuba. And the passionate Cuban surfers could do with a motto alongside solidarity, courage and a lot of passion.

In this year's surf film Havana Libre, Frank Gonzáles Guerra, this year's face of the International OCEAN FILM TOUR, campaigns with a group of like-minded people to legalise surfing in Cuba and have it recognised as an official sport. For historical reasons, the Cuban authorities are more than suspicious of water sports and, above all, materials that could be used to leave the country by water.

From March, you can meet him on the International OCEAN FILM TOUR in the film Havana Libre.
But the passionate surfer has already answered a few questions for us.

4 questions for Frank

About his passion for surfing and Havana Libre

Frank, you grew up in Cuba and have been surfing for over 30 years now. How did your passion for surfing develop?

When I was about five years old, I was playing football on the beach in Cuba. Then a wave came and washed my football away while I was playing and carried it out to sea and back in again with the swell and the current. I found this fascinating and thought to myself: if the football can be transported on the wave, is it also possible for people to be carried by a wave? At the time, of course, I didn't realise that surfing was already a professional sport elsewhere.

What does surfing mean to you? Is there a special experience you had while surfing, a memory you would like to share?

Surfing is my purpose in life, it means everything to me. I've been surfing a lot longer than I haven't and I can't imagine my life without surfing. A special event for me was the first time I caught a wave and surfed it. Like everyone who starts surfing.

What was it like to be accompanied by a film crew?

It was a really brilliant experience for us: going to the cinema and knowing that a part of your life has been immortalised on film, as you would otherwise do in a diary. It was really phenomenal, I couldn't believe it at first. It was a really special experience.

And how did it feel for you to see the finished film?

After all the years of shooting, it was brilliant to finally see the finished film on the big screen. HAVANA LIBRE reminded me of things that were no longer on my radar. It was especially nice to realise how many special moments Corey and his film team captured. Sometimes I didn't even realise that they had been filming at all.

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