Five hundred years after Spanish explorers founded Baracoa as their first settlement in Cuba, some aspects of daily life remain unchanged: Women wash clothes in nearby rivers, and men transport goods on rafts made of narrow logs paddling near coconut palms and a table-topped mountain.

Spanish journalist Mauricio Vicent chronicles daily life in his film debut, “Baracoa: Where Cuba Began,” an unconventional documentary. The 61-minute movie observes residents in Cuba’s oldest city instead of interviewing them. And it includes little narration beyond advice from a radio announcer at the outset who sums up the film’s powerful and timeless message: “Happiness doesn’t come from having the most, but from loving what you do have.”
 

Vicent was a correspondent in Havana for 20 years, working for Spain’s respected El País newspaper and SER radio group, until the Castro government refused to renew his credentials last September for alleged bias and negative reporting. He is married to a Cuban and has two children born on the island. His articles have earned numerous awards including Spain’s top International Press Club prize in 1998.
 

 “Baracoa” had its international premiere at the Miami International Film Festival in March and its U.S. commercial debut at Miami-Dade College’s Tower Theater in Little Havana in June. At a recent showing, many in the audience were Cubans from Baracoa, who yearned to see images of their beloved hometown founded in 1511.
 

Caridad Díaz, a 71-year-old accountant who has lived for decades in Miami, found the documentary  ittersweet. She recalls growing up in Baracoa when many townspeople already had washing machines and did not need to beat clothes in the river to clean them. The lack of material comforts for many residents today saddened her.
 

Yet Díaz proudly reveled in the natural beauty of her hometown and the resilient spirit of residents including a childhood pal profiled in the movie – historian Alejandro Hartmann, who she described as a dedicated professional. She heartily agreed with the message of the film: Enjoy what you have.
 

 “Here in Miami, where people have so much more, many don’t know how to appreciate it,” she said. “They don’t make the most of life.”
Beautifully photographed with an eye toward nature, and melodically scored by troubadour Pedro Luís Ferrer, the film focuses on the humble lives of select residents: a girl celebrating her 15th birthday, who has fun smearing friends with frosting from her cake; a basketball coach who lovingly nurtures his girls’ team to compete; boys learning to box; a historian who takes stone artifacts across rivers to show at schools, plus clerics from various religions and followers who sing and move with spirit.
 

 The movie hardly mentions politics, except in humor.  In one scene, Baracoa boxing champ José Legra — living in Spain — recalls his meetings with Spanish fascist leader Francisco Franco, where Franco cheered “Long Live Spain.” Joked Legra, laughing out loud: “If Fidel Castro caught me saying that, he’d kill me.”
 

 Financial needs also are taken in stride. “We don’t have sneakers. One day, we will,” the basketball coach tells his girls, urging them to always maintain respect and dignity. In a land without cellphones and even few land lines, the radio broadcaster asks listeners to pass on messages to specific neighbors that someone is ill and needs hospital supplies, or when someone has an appointment at the clinic.
 

 At its core, the film reminds viewers that what really counts is attitude: living with passion and making the best of it. Vincent has said he was impressed how Baracoa’s simple people, despite their hardships, never lost their ability to dream. It’s a humbling lesson and one sure to keep its vitality 500 years from now.