Sunday, June 05, 2011
THE BEST MEXICAN FILM I KNOW OF
Steve Worth turned everybody he knows onto this gem of a film, "Al Son Del Mambo." It's about Mexican show people who travel to Havana in 1950 to check out Perez Prado, the great Cuban mambo king. At least I think that's what it's about...It's in Spanish and I can't understand a thing!
Perez Prado and his band (above) are stupendous here, and the dancing is to die for. That woman is great! Man, you can't keep your feet still when music like this is playing! But poor Perez Prado...look what his tailor did to him!
The film blends Mexican and Cuban styles and amazingly, the combination works! That's Mexican star Pedro Galindo above singing a killer version of "La Malaguena Salerosa." Man, Mexicans in this era could really belt out ballads! What a sentimental and romantic people they must be!
I love the way the director, Chano Urueta, shot this song. Unfortunately this clip doesn't include Galindo's entrance which is deliberately delayed to build tension. When he finally arrives the director gives him a head to toe shot (also not here) which establishes him as the ultimate vaquero, resplendid in the uniform of the Mexican cowboy.
And Urueta knows how to shoot romance. He plays it straight and sincere, with no hint of mockery. He makes you believe that these people really are in love, and that love is the most important thing in the world.
Above, more Cuban music from the film's 20 minute grand finale: Perez Prado and dancer Amalia Agular wow everybody...the vocalist isn't bad, either.
I love the Cuban style which appears to be influenced partly by Las Vegas of all things. I'm no expert on Cuban history, but it looks to me that Cuba was poised to become a real cultural and economic powerhouse before Castro buggered it up.
If you recognized Galindo's song "Malaguena Salerosa" maybe that's because you heard it on the soundtrack to Kill Bill 2. Here (above) Robert Rodriquez and Chingon do a fast contemporary version of it for a premier party. It gets a terrific arrangement here.
So that's it. Now go out and buy the Prado film. Good luck finding it, though. I don't even know if it's in print any more.
BTW: Aaaargh! I forgot the Dolly Sisters clip. Have enough stamina for one more video?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7qrVPMVa2w
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
Man! I love the fusion of Mexican and Cuban culture and dances in these clips. It looks like the kind of film you can watch on one of those classic old Latin film channels that they have on TV. I'm Hispanic myself (my parents are from the Dominican Republic), so I have a connection to Latin music. I can even understand what everyone's saying in these clips, even though I suck at speaking Spanish compared to my own parents.
Are you familiar with Merengue or Bachata music, Eddie? That's the kind of music my parents grew up with for the most part. A lot of it can be really fast, depending on what kind of song it is.
Perez Prado and his orchestra were amazing musicians. My wifes grandfather (from Costa Rica) got me into this stuff. He says he saw him live a number of times. It must have been fantastic to watch one of these shows live! BTW, the funny looking guy in the first clip is a Mexican comedic actor whose schtick was the outlandish dancing. He went by the name "Resortes" which is the Spanish word for springs. Thanks for posting these Eddie.
Roberto: Merengue and Bachata? Sounds fascinating! Have any recommendations?
Steve: Yeah, Resortes is great. He looks just the way Cabral draws him on the posters. He's uneven, and his schtick doesn't always work, but when he's good as he is here, he's very good.
Here's some stuff my parents love and would always play in the house, just to give you a sampler. These aren't exactly recommendations from a personal basis, but it's the kind of music that I grew up with.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAxB6fMORvA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP8CXWo1INk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqf9jVoTgf0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylCmpTvDrvA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaVnA88oNTg
The last clip is more of a pop song, but my mom and literally everyone else in my family loves this band, which is also from where she came from. It's one of those songs with some really gritty, sad lyrics to it.
I just think it's great to have my horizon broadened. Thanks.
Yes! Ernesto Garcia Cabral produced some beautiful work. There's a local (Ft. Lauderdale) Mex eatery that has decorated the place using only his movie poster work. I've sat in there for hours looking them over. While I stuff my mouth with a burrito of course. Have you ever written up a post about his work?
Roberto: Thanks for the links! I watched all of them. They were all very listenable and had a good vibe, but in my opinion none matched the best stuff from the 40s and 50s. Maybe that was a golden age for latin music. Musicians used a greater variety of instruments in those days.
I'll see if I can find some older Meregue and Bachata on youtube. In spite of what I said here, I really am grateful for the links. Thanks much!
BTW, what did you think of the Chingon version of M. Salerosa? I liked it a lot, though the singing was better on the screen.
Steve: I did do a Cabral post way back in...Aaaargh! I I've been blogging since 2006, so it's hard to remember when I put things up.
The 1940's into the 1950's was the golden age of Mexican music. What a standard!
Post a Comment