Christoph Röckerath

Cuba is a place of longing. The Caribbean cliché comes to life here: sunlight, music, and a joy of living. Buena Vista Social Club around the clock. A utopia beyond the routines of everyday life, far removed from our efficiency-driven society. Cuba feels like a living open-air museum. Classic cars, old palaces, steam locomotives, and ox-drawn carts. The government seems torn between the need for modernization and the desire to preserve the past, knowing that it is precisely this timeless atmosphere that fascinates tourists. An island from a bygone golden age, one might be tempted—perhaps too hastily—to think.

Glittering facades, vibrant life, and people facing the daily struggle for survival. ZDF correspondents each profile a megacity within their reporting area. How do people celebrate, laugh, and love in such a city? How are problems like housing shortages, food supply, transportation, and climate change solved – in metropolises with over ten million inhabitants?