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While this is a great shame for Candido, it's also a fine opportunity for Adolfo to test out his new corpse transportation plan. The idea is that when a body has to travel long-distance, the provinces in-between only ferry the coffin apart their section of the journey. It involves a lot of organisation and hearse swapping but, according to Adolfo, will save both time and fuel. Since Yoyita has to be taken all the way back to Havana, a convoy of the hearse and following taxi soon departs Guantanamu. Driven by black-marketeer Tony (Luis Alberto Garcia), the trip should be an interesting one.
Following an identical route, on the lightly trafficked roads, is a truck piloted by Mariano (Jorge Perugorria) and Ramon (Pedro Fernandez). Although they both favour the principle of a woman in every town, Mariano is such an inveterate womaniser that he has a girlfriend in every service-station! Together they're taking sealed containers cross-country, though they're not averse to picking up passengers or local goods for a bit of hard cash. As might be expected, the funeral cortege and truck find their paths crossing. The surprise is that Gina and Mariano have a past, stretching back to the time when she was a professor.
Although Guantanamera is a pleasing combination of romance and criticism of the Cuban order, the heart of the story is Adolfo. He squats at the centre like a mad but powerless dictator, a malignant toad. As the originator of the new plan, which he desperately wants to succeed and propel him back into a position of authority, he is the cause of this chaotic trip. Even though they're transporting a relative's remains, Adolfo treats it like a forced march; he's a real task-master. Thus Gina, Candido and Tony can never do anything fast enough while (in his mind) all of his fellow undertakers are trying to undermine him (given how obnoxious he is, they should do). Ironically, he is the architect of his own downfall, a victim of his personal coldness and cruelty.
Fortunately, Guantanamera also deals with the more pleasant themes of love, lust and life. Several relationships unwind in parallel, though each has qualities which set them apart. The most enduring, and sad, love is that of Candido and Yoyita. After keeping a torch burning for half a century, Candido is just about to rekindle the old fires when the focus of his thoughts dies. It might have been better for all concerned if she hadn't come back at all, for now all Candido is memories and dashed hope. The younger love of Gina and Mariano is equally joyous, though her dusty marriage puts a dampener on things (even if it is to that pedantic beast Adolfo).
The script is mostly predictable, though not in a damaging way, with lots of coincidences bringing forth the absurdity of the system and low-key humour. From another angle, Guantanamera is also highly critical of socialist/communist values, eager to satirize this idealism whenever possible. Winning performances strengthen the material, enhancing the roles with just the right expressions and reactions (Perugorria is especially fine as the man who suddenly notices the vacancy in his life, a hole not adequately filled by road-side affairs). So, while Guantanamera might not be as scathing or penetrating as it might be (perhaps a touch idealistic itself), it sure looks and feels good.
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