In his writings, Alejo Carpentier strove to incorporate "the marvelous," a version of reality that he maintained was indigenous to the Americas. In this program, the late author/musicologist elaborates on his Los pasos perdidos, El siglo de las luces, and Concierto barroco, while providing an understanding of the impact of surrealism and the influence of the Generation of ’98 on his writing, the political atmosphere of Cuba, and his childhood in France. "I didn’t speak anything but French in the house," says Carpentier, "but I always wrote in Castilian." (Spanish, 91 minutes, b&w)