Abel Álvarez reunites with his friend, Cuban actress Isabel Santos

August 21, 2023

Cuban radio host Abel Álvarez, currently based in Los Angeles, California, has been enjoying his vacation in Cuba, where he has had the opportunity to reunite with great friends and fellow artists.

After a visit to the famous beach resort of Varadero, in Matanzas, and a quick trip to the eastern Santiago de Cuba to visit the Basilica of El Cobre, Abel Álvarez returned to Havana on Saturday with his companion, Cuban filmmaker Carlos Barba Salva.

It was that same weekend, and through the filmmaker, that Álvarez reunited with the iconic Cuban actress Isabel Santos. The actress's closeness with Barba Salva over the years has made her love him like one of her own sons. "With my director and son," says one of her latest Instagram posts.

Carlos Barba Salva resides with Abel Álvarez in Los Angeles, and nearly two decades ago directed the documentary "Mujer que espera," which addresses important facets of Isabel Santos as one of the most important figures in Cuban cinematography.

This year 2023, Barba Salva turned the documentary into a homonymous book accompanied by new perspectives, photographic records, and critical texts. All dedicated to the great actress of "Se permuta," "Clandestinos," and "Miel para Oshún." The book features, as added value, a prologue by Cuban filmmaker Fernando Pérez.

"So much affection in a single photo," wrote Abel Álvarez at the bottom of his photo with Isabel Santos and Barba Salva. The three reunited to enjoy a beautiful afternoon at the Al Carbón restaurant, on Aguacate Street, corner of Chacón, Old Havana.

The beloved Cuban radio host and his companion also had the opportunity to reunite with another friend, Cuban actress Tahimi Alvariño, whom the filmmaker directed for his film "Las Polacas."