El Cantante

Though they don't look much alike, slight actor-singer Marc Anthony was born to play robust salsa sensation Héctor Lavoe. In addition to similar ancestry and vocal skills, Anthony has been building a respectable cinematic resume with roles in Big Night and Martin Scorsese's Bringing out the Dead. The title of El Cantante comes from a number Rubén Blades wrote for The Singer. Lavoe would make it his signature song. In the film, Anthony's wife, producer Jennifer Lopez, plays Puchi, the Nuyorican beauty who won Lavoe's heart. She narrates their story from the perspective of 2002 (the real-life Puchi passed away shortly afterwards). Leon Ichaso (Piñero) contrasts Lavoe's rise from Puerto Rican street singer to New York superstar with his fall from innocent immigrant to heroin-addicted ladies man. By the mid-1980s, Lavoe's popularity hit its peak, and Ichaso spends the rest of the time ticking off the tragedies of his final years: the break with trombonist Willie Colón (John Ortiz), stay in a mental ward, etc. It's a dynamic portrait, and Anthony and Lopez work well together, but despite the urban setting and Latin-flavored soundtrack, El Cantante follows virtually the same trajectory as Ray and Walk the Line (Ichaso has also directed biopics of Jimi Hendrix and Muhammad Ali). His movie looks and sounds authentic, but Lavoe's story might've been better served as nonfiction. There's a sense that there was more to the man than what appears on screen. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Customer Review: El cantante sings!
I loved this movie and I also love JLo and Marc Anthony! I think this movie was underrated. If you are truly interested in Hector Lavoe, you will love it. If you buy it just cause you want to see JLo and Marc, you probably won't like it. They are good in the movie but the story is what made it for me. Of course, it goes without saying, Marc Anthony's voice is supberb!
Customer Review: WONDERFUL....
I rented this film recently and was surprised at how good it was. The story depicts the stormy life and tragic end to the great salsa legend Hector Lavoe. This movie hits you in the heart from the start. It makes you care about the character and his music. I now own a cd of Hector Lavoe and I never knew I could like salsa. Who knew?? His music is amazing and the tragic events of his life makes you want to know the person behind the prose of his songs. My ears know good music when it hears it and this man was a icon. Hector Lavoe.......rest in peace! I'm not much of a fan of Jennifer Lopez but she played a good role. However, another actress (a more popular one) would have made this film more marketable to the non-Hispanic population ( mass audience).

Latin American Studies - Tulane University
Cuban Cinema: 40 Years of ICAIC, October 14-November 9, 1999. Guantanamera . ... Old school Cuban music , January 21. Ancestro. Traditional music from the Andes, ...
http://stonecenter.tulane.edu/html/EventsArchive99-00.htm

Central America reports
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SHOWCASE :: Erie's Entertainment Web Site!
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Smithsonian Folkways
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Music - Latin. Alert Added! Customize your e-mail preferences and more on My ... Legendary Cuban guitarist Compay Segundo was born in 1907; collaborating with ...
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Durango Herald Online
No matter what style of music the members of Los Lobos are playing at the moment, ... Los Lobos' version of " Guantanamera ," the familiar feel-good Cuban song that ...
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Basic Vocab :: The General Dynamic :: AVX Music Group
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http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2006_05_generaldynamic.html

Pulse of the Twin Cities - Locally Grown Alternative Newspaper
And, somewhere in the background, you can hear laughter and the sound of music . ... The tropics and Cuban enthusiasm push all things to extremes, so the baroque is ...
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Dear Kitty. Some blog :: Film
This is a video from the film Guantanamera , by Toms Gutirrez Alea. ... "Hollywood happy endings," says Cuban actress Mirtha Ibarra, "do nothing to help ...
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Sound Bytes Music Reviews, Short Cuts Page 5: Rudy Bonneville Birkins ...
Sound Bytes Music Reviews of folk, country, and roots music are written on an irregular basis by Bob MacKenzie, ... the Cuban composer, Compay Segundo, and ...
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