Esteban

Esteban is nine years old and lives with his mother in Havana. Miriam sells cosmetic products on the street without a license and can thus only just feed the small family. Esteban also has to help after school. One day he hears an old man wonderfully playing the piano at an open window. At the gate, he discovers the sign saying “piano lessons” and gets to know the grumpy composer and teacher named Hugo. From now on, Esteban dreams of learning to play the piano. But Hugo charges 50 pesos an hour, a sum that Miriam cannot and does not want to pay. So Esteban has to come up with something: for example, helping his mother sell and offer the products for a slightly higher price, gambling for money with his schoolmates or borrowing something from his father. He secretly begins to take piano lessons with Hugo, who is enthusiastic about the musical talent of his new pupil. He therefore wants to encourage Esteban to apply for a music school. But Esteban needs more practice before, and he finally has to tell Miriam of his piano lessons.