"El Cantante" preview

Got to check out a press screening of the long-awaited Hector Lavoe biopic, "El Cantante," coming out next month (though in NYC, it will premiere at the NY International Latino Film Fest a week before its general release). I won't give away everything, and it's not like anyone who knows Lavoe's story doesn't know how it ends (junk, AIDS, poverty, death). But take this as a cool little taste on a meltingly hot day.

First, the good news: they don't mess up the music. In fact, the performance segments are really great. The band credits read like an army of salsa stars and session men, and it shows. The sound is rich and booming (which is more than I can say for the soundtrack, what little of it I was able to hear). And it's hard to imagine someone who could embody Lavoe's intensity and sensibility better than Marc Anthony. Some other plus points: John Ortiz's Willie Colon makes the most of a reduced part, and, as my screening buddy Mare pointed out, they don't demonize the drug use.

Now, for the bad (or at least annoying): there's WAY too much J.Lo. As the movie's producer, and clearly the one whose clout got this made, it's no surprise. But the movie might as well have been called, "La mujer del cantante." No more than 2 minutes elapse in any shot before the camera either cuts to her or she walks into sight.

This does a couple of things: her character Puchi (Hector's wife) is so intense that she actually drains energy away from him, the guy the movie is named after. Marc Anthony works best in quieter scenes. When the two are yelling, he comes off as a bit of a cliche of the fiery angry Latin man. Also, making the story about them as a couple means that you never get a good idea of why he was so big, so important to so many people.

Salsa was revolutionary, but there's no sense of that here. Director Leon Ichaso did much better the first time he visited the cuchifrito circuit, in the underappreciated "Crossover Dreams." I do think "El Cantante" will satisfy salsa fans hungry for validation, but will it cross over as an "American" rather than "foreign" story? (Several times in the movie, Nuyorican characters make a point of saying they don't speak Spanish.) We shall see.

In the meantime, get a dose of a whole other kind of update of the Lavoe legend tomorrow night at Cielo. Transcendent DJ and producer Louie Vega dedicates his semi-regular after-work party Raza to his late uncle (yup, he's Lavoe's sister's kid), on the occasion of a couple of Fania collection re-releases timed for the movie. Also featured is a performance by one of the best local young soneros, Flaco Navaja. The event starts at 6 pm, and the weatherman says that tomorrow will be a better day. Download the flyer here  for a discount on the entry.

[Photo of young Hector Lavoe via www.americansalsa.com; Marc Anthony via www.salsa.ch; Flaco Navaja via Flickr]

Comments

[El Pueblo]

I am glad that its Marc Anthony playing him and not like Antonio Banderas or some shit like (nothing against Banderas, I think he's great pero no como salsero).
I cant stand Jlo but I have to swallow my dislike for her and deal with it because I do want to see the movie.
I'll tell you this much about Jlo she's a "better" actress than a "singer."

[Melissa]

A lot of people don't know that it's how it was between Hector and his wife, i read that she was always with Hector and that she was controling, always around. Also if i'm not wrong the story it told from Puchi point of view no ?

[caro]

Melissa, yes the story is from Puchi's POV and I don't doubt she was always with him. But there is more than one way to tell the story and having her be around so much takes time away from other important aspects of Hector's story, IMHO.

[Kiko Jones]

Actually, what's sadder still is talk of skipping out on the film altogether by people that just can't deal with Jello and are disheartened by her character's POV being what drives the film's narrative. I'm with 'em but I'll hold my nose long enough to get through it.