<i>Música</i>: Spanish Caribbean Music in New York City
2008; University of Puerto Rico; Volume: 36; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/crb.0.0082
ISSN1940-9095
Autores Tópico(s)Cuban History and Society
ResumoMúsica:Spanish Caribbean Music in New York City Robin Moore Música. Produced by Gustavo A. Paredes, Jr. Directed by John D. Wise. NEP Productions, 1984. 59 minutes. Despite its vague title, the orientation of Gustavo Paredes' film is fairly specific: it focuses on the history and development of Latin jazz in New York City, and on the social meanings of Latin dance music to the Spanish-speaking immigrant community there through various decades. Intended for a general audience, the documentary considers the lives and artistic contributions of key individuals involved with music making in New York since the 1930s, a number of whom are interviewed directly by the filmmakers. The documentary includes an effective mix of performance footage, voice-over commentary, interviews with performers, with musicologists and sociologists, and period images from past decades that bring to life the context in which Latin jazz and salsa dance music developed. Most of the issues raised by Música surface through a focus on particular performers and their life histories. The documentary begins by discussing Mario Bauzá, for instance, describing his move from Havana to New York, his collaborations with well known jazz bands of the 1930s, the difficulties he encountered as a Spanish-speaking immigrant in New York of that period and as performer of color, the ties he gradually established with the diverse Latino community consisting of Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Colombians, and others, and so on. The documentary continues in roughly chronological fashion, considering many other artists (Desi Arnaz, Noro Morales, Miguelito Valdés, Tito Puente, Arsenio Rodríguez, etc.) whose contributions to Latin jazz and dance music in New York have been significant. Later sections of the hour-long film describe collaborations between African-American and Afro-Latin artists in New York in the 1960s, issues of crossover and the mainstreaming of Latin music among English-speaking audiences, and emphasize the importance of preserving Latino heritage into the future. One of the most impressive aspects of this documentary is the number of interviews it contains with key figures in Latin jazz and New York's Latin music industry. I know of no other film that includes direct [End Page 241] commentary by flutist Alberto Socarras, for instance, or with individuals from the music industry including Enrique Fernández and (especially) Ralph Mercado. This in addition to valuable firsthand commentary by performers Mario Bauzá, Joe Cuba, Dizzie Gillespie, and Paquito D'Rivera, and others, interspersed with that of academics and authorities (Isabelle Leymarie and Max Salazar), as well as others involved in Latin music education (Johnny Colón) proves quite valuable. The film includes a surprising number of vintage performance clips by likes of Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Machito and his Afro-Cubans, Carmen Miranda, etc. For students unfamiliar with these individuals or how they presented themselves on stage, the film has the potential to bring historical material and artists to life in meaningful ways. The fact that Paredes' documentary dates from the 1980s works to his advantage in the sense that many mid-century performers he discusses were still alive and contributed directly to the film's content. A similar attempt by film makers today would be much more limited in terms of performers who would be available for consultation or interviews. I can imagine that Música would be useful in various ways as a classroom aid. For instance, it could facilitate discussion about racism in the mid-century music industry; sexism and the marginalization of female performers in the world of Latin music; generational shifts in the tastes of Latino audiences, especially since the 1960s; inter-influences between North American jazz musicians and others from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and elsewhere in Latin America; and the common roots of both black North American and Afro-Caribbean music. The film does an especially good job of elucidating the relationships between political issues facing Latino immigrants at particular moments in U.S. history and the ways they have impacted music making. Paredes takes pains to music as part of a broader socio-cultural whole that includes demographic trends, changing racial attitudes, the impact of military engagements such as World War II on culture, the mediating effects of...
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