Der Nebel von gestern

Necessity is the mother of invention. This is also true for Mario Conde, who makes a living as an antiquarian – not a bad business in times when many Cubans have to sell their books for money. One day, Conde stumbles upon an extraordinarily valuable library that has been forgotten for forty years. All his financial worries seem to be solved in an instant.

However, he then discovers among the bibliophile treasures a magazine from the 1950s featuring a portrait of the bolero singer Violeta del Río. Her image and the only record she made before her mysterious death enchant him. He sets out to find her, delving into the Havana of yesteryear, seeking the last witnesses of those wild years, exploring the world of boleros, the mafia, and gambling dens, but also into the decaying, melancholic Havana of the present.