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Edie,
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"Yo Soy, Del Son A La Salsa"
- Film by RMM
On September 10th I was fortunate enough to have been invited to the world premiere (in New York City) of “Yo Soy, Del Son A La Salsa,” a documentary about the history of salsa. The feature-length film was produced by Ralph Mercado of RMM and was directed by Cuba’s Rigoberto Lopez. I highly recommend this film for anyone interested in the history of “the music that put the world to dance.” There are interviews and performances by Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Oscar D’Leon, Cheo Feliciano, Fania All-Stars, Eddie Palmieri, Johnny Pacheco, El Gran Combo, Marc Anthony, Andy Montanez, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Larry Harlow, Isaac Delgado, Tito Gomez, Papo Lucca, Dave Valentin, Tite Curet Alonso, Israel Lopez “Cachao,” Joe Cuba, Chucho Valdes, Los Van Van, Adalberto Alvarez, Yoruba Andabo, Grupo Changui, Lazaro Herrera and Ruby Calzado.
The film also features rare footage of some of the legends of this music, namely Beny More, Perez Prado, Arsenio Rodriguez, Antonio Arcado, Ignacio Pineiro, Trio Matamoros, Orquesta Aragon, Mario Bauza, Machito, Miguelito Valdes, Tito Rodriguez, Rafael Cortijo, Ismael Rivera, Hector Lavoe and Chano Pozo.
This vintage footage alone is worth the price of a theatre ticket. For those of us too young to have ever seen Machito or Beny More in person, you are in for a treat. The film opens with footage of Cuban villagers singing and dancing in the streets of Eastern Cuba. It then traces the music’s evolution from Eastern Cuba to Havana and then through Mexico to New York City’s Spanish Harlem, where the Afro-Cuban rhythms combined with jazz to create what we know as mambo. Many legends (mostly from Cuba) were responsible for the creation of salsa music up until the 1960’s but the absence of Cuba from the world market (because of the trade embargo) combined with the influence of pop music temporarily stiffled the progression of salsa music in the sixties. Therefore, the Latino musicians (mostly Puerto Rican) in El Barrio (Spanish Harlem) looked for new direction in music. Five-time Grammy winner and Bronx-born Eddie Palmieri is credited with being one of the most outstanding leaders in the creation of contemporary Latin music because of the contributions he made to the musical scene during this time of change.
Charanga music became very popular in the 60's, a classic example of which is Orquesta Aragon. Willie Colon and Ruben Blades created salsa with a conscience, music that parted from the usual themes to sing about the life of Latinos in today’s world. Changes were taking place in Cuban music by the early 1970’s as well, most notably the creation of Los Van Van and, later, Irakere, who blended traditional Cuban rhythms with the sound of jazz. The film also credits Oscar D’Leon for the spread of salsa throughout the world, especially its reputation in Cuba, where Oscar displayed his musical mastery in 1985.
As a dancer, I was particularly impressed by how many of the musicians actually gave credit to dancers for helping with the formation and creation of the music. They said that they would watch the dancers from the stage and if they took a step forward or back they would actually hold the bar to accomodate the dancers so that in a sense the dancers were also responsible for the creation and evolution of salsa music.
The one continuous theme throughout the film was its homage to Cuba. Salsa comes from the sones of Cuba and, although it has had many other influences, the film made it clear that salsa music started in Cuba.
The film did end, however, with Los Van Van performing a song which gave credit to the contributions of musical legends from Puerto Rico, Venezuela and New York.
My conclusion after seeing this film is that salsa music started in Cuba and is primarily Afro-Cuban music but it has been blessed with incredible contributions from many other countries. Salsa music is truly music of the world.
Yo Soy, Del Son A La Salsa
Dates:
Miami:
Theatre release: Fri. Sept. 26P.R.
Premiere: Tues. Sept. 30th
Theatre release: Fri. Oct. 3L.A.
Press screening: Thurs, sept. 25
Theatre release: Fri. Oct. 3San Francisco & San Diego
Theatre release: Fri. Oct. 3Boston
Theatre release: Fri. Oct. 10Philly
Theatre release: Fri. Oct. 10Washigton D.C./Chicago/Houston/San Antonio
Theatre release: Fri. Oct. 24________________________________________________________
Interesting E-Mails in Response to the Film Review:Marla, I was fortunate enough to see this movie in Chicago during the Latin Film fest. I also had the opportunity to talk to the director who was present. This was a great movie and it moved me a great deal. Yo Soy Cubano, and although I'm not old, I grew up listening to Benny More, but never saw him in action until this film. Seeing him direct on stage, dancing con sombrero y cane was great. But what really moved me was seeing viejo Cubanos from Mantanzas playing the music in original form. It reminded me of my abuelo. Has the film changed any? The opening seen I saw was in the Latin Quarter with dancers dressed in blue sequence. It was also all in Espanol. Is is now in English? Being in Spanish made it more appealing to me, however in English the true history will reach a broader audience. The director said it was shown in Spain and Puerto Rico before Chicago, and it won a movie award in Espana. In Puerto Rico, likewise in Chicago, Puertoricanos y Cubanos became misty eyed and filled with nostalgia. To me I got a very warm and home like feeling. Finally someone told the real history of Salsa and how it comes from CUBANOS, primarily. Good review!
From: chamer at enteract.com
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The documentary was produced from a very Cuban perspective. This is helpful in educating the many modern salseros who have the misconcieved notion that salsa is "a Puertorican thing." It was abundantly clear that Aro-Cuban music is the backbone of salsa. However, this perspective allowed for the contributions from Puerto Rico to be downplayed. The film failed to make any mention of the Puertorican elements that entered salsa. It made no mention of the bomba and plena effects on salsa. These were important contributions to salsa which came at a much needed time.
After the relations between Cuba and the United States deteriorated and the embargo was placed, the musicians in New York no longer were in close contact with the Cuban developments. They were forced to find new avenues. Here is where Puertorican elements helped. Musicians like Willie Colon and Rafael Cortijo began implementing instruments from bomba and plena such as the bomba drums and the cuatro. These elements kept the music's identity as an Afro-Carribean rythm. These elements are not as important as the Cuban ones but definetly important enough to be mentioned in a study of salsa.
The film also promoted more comaradery amongst salseros from different parts of the world. This was well demonstrated by a song that Los Van Van performed paying respect to all the music legends from Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and New York. This I found to be very appropriate especially because of this year's controversies in Calle Ocho and Puerto Rico with Andy Montanez and Celia Cruz, respectively. Overall, the film was constructive and entertaining. I am just disappointed that it overlooked the Puertorican contributions to salsa.
From: Victor Hugo
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