Product Details
ASIN : 0767000927
Editorial Reviews
From Amazon.com
Latin music has always been a fixture in American popular culture, but its history reflects centuries of change and complexity from diverse sources. Roots of Rhythm, an incredible three-hour film originally shown on PBS in 1997, traces the development of this exciting musical genre, going back 500 years across three continents. Hosted by the famed Caribbean American entertainer Harry Belafonte, the film begins in West Africa, in the villages that ring with the ancestral anthems of sacred Yoruba beats and bata drums. The focus shifts to Spain, where modern-day troubadours sing their haunting, Moorish-tinged ballads and Gypsies dance their heated flamenco dances. Those musical influences are brought together by the transatlantic slave trade in the island of Cuba, where enslaved Africans and Spanish immigrants mixed and melded each others' music into a myriad of new, hybrid creations like the rumba, tumba francesa, danzon, and mambo. Belafonte quotes a poet who said, "Cuban music is a love affair between the African drum and the Spanish guitar."
In America, this love affair bloomed in New York, where Cuban and African American jazz musicians like Machito, Mario Bauza, and Dizzy Gillespie melded mambo rhythms to bebop, creating Latin jazz. Belafonte then brings us to the dazzling timbales master Tito Puente and vocalist Celia Cruz, who reigned as the king and queen of salsa, the stateside version of Cuban dance music that emerged in the '60s. The film offers revealing interviews and music clips with many Latin music stars, including Gloria Estefan of Miami Sound Machine and Panamanian Rubén Blades. The rare archival footage features Dizzy Gillespie's 1948 number "Manteca," bandleader Xavier Cugat's "Gypsy Mambo," and a cartoon clip of Donald Duck doing "Tico Tico." After watching this engaging and encyclopedic film, you'll never dance to Latin music the same way again. --Eugene Holley Jr.
Customer Reviews
Generally okay, but biased (2006-12-02)  I bought this DVD from Amazon on the basis of the larger number of reviews on amazon.com, which were generally positive. Being a fan of Salsa but not so much of traditional Cuban music (Son and the like) I found it a bit boring at times. At the risk of being flamed, I also think it's biased. Biased because it takes the popular view, not universally shared, that what we call Salsa originates from Cuba. It neglects to spend any substantial time explaining the influences of Puerto Rico, New York, Colombia, etc. on the music. Still, it's worth a look.
Harry is cheesy but overall good info (2002-04-14)  Harry Belafonte acts like a cheeseball sometimes, but this video has some great information for fans of latin music. It tells the story of the music, beginning in Africa and Spain, and going to Cuba and the US. Awesome music throughout, very informative movie. My only complaint is that Harry Belafonte is a dork. I have no problem with him, I just think he's a dork.
Best English language history of Latin Music. (2000-08-03)  This 3 video collection is a must have for all interested in Latin music history from Africa to Cuba to New York. Has some amazing music clips of Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, etc.
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