El cantante (2006)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Leon Ichaso

Writers (WGA):

Leon Ichaso (screenplay) and
David Darmstaeder (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

3 August 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Music

Tagline:

Based on the true story of the King of Salsa, Hector Lavoe.

Plot:

The life story of Hector Lavoe who started the salsa movement in 1975 and brought it to the United States.

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Dance | 1970s | Title Spoken By Character

Cast

Alfredo Suarez	...	Salsa dancer
Vianca Mercedes	...	Bartender
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Danny A. Abeckaser	...	Sound Engineer
Douglas J. Aguirre	...	Multi- Media Producer
Marc Anthony	...	Hector Lavoe
Christopher Becerra	...	Tito
Denise Blasor	...	Voice over artist (voice)
Michael Caputo	...	Salsa Dancer
Ivan Cardona	...	Salsa Dancer
Federico Castelluccio	...	Jerry Masucci
Marcus Collins	...	Photographer
Abraham DeFunes	...	Family Member
Anibal De Gracia	...	Trombonist
Romi Dias	...	Priscilla
Glenda Dopazo	...	Carmen
Brother Eden Douglas	...	Street SaxMan -1987 (as Brother Douglas)
Vaneik Echeverria	...	Bartender 1
Jared Everleth	...	Tito - 4 yrs.old
J. Teddy Garces	...	(voice)
Melissa Gonzalez	...	Fania All Star Groupie
Bernard Hernandez	...	Tito
Vincent Laresca	...	Ralph Mercado
Hector A. Leguillow	...	Pianist for Hector Lavoe Band,1968 Band
Jennifer Lopez	...	Puchi
Deirdre Lorenz	...	Willie's Girl
David Marquez	...	Boogaloo Line Dancer
Chiko Mendez	...	Backup Singer
Jack Mulcahy	...	Doctor
Andrea Navedo	...	Puchi's sister
John Ortiz	...	Willie Colón
Melissa Otero	...	Salsa Dancer
Antone Pagan	...	Papo (Puchi's Brother)
Jerry Perez	...	Salsa Dancer
Manny Perez	...	Eddie
Jorge Pupo	...	Trombonist: Hector Lavoe Band, Willie Colón Band, Fania All Stars Orquestra
Edwin Rivera	...	Marc Anthony's Best Friend
Yan Ruiz	...	Voice Over (voice)
Lou Torres	...	Dayplayer / Piano Player
Nelson Vasquez	...	Johnny Pacheco
Richie Viruet	...	Trumpet player

Also Known As:

Who Killed Hector Lavoe? (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for drug use, pervasive language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

USA:106 min | Canada:116 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

Spanish | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:R | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:M18 | UK:15 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 | Japan:R-15

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Company:

Nuyorican Productions

Trivia:

According to the DVD commentary, the film was shot in only 33 days.

Quotes:

Puchi: Hector never knew how much people loved him. And that's the thing. It's like he didn't want to know.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: The Making of 'El Cantante' (#14.18)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Aguanile

It is a decent film, just not brilliant

I am a massive Lavoe fan. Ever since I heard the Cosa Nuestra album with Willie. From then I made it a point to look for every bit of music he ever did. So for me this was my most anticipated movie of the year.

The good news about this film is that Jennifer and Marc do a great job of acting. Marc in particular is quite brilliant as Hector. Even his singing is decent (but of course he can't touch Hector). The cinematography is good too. Love the visuals, they've given the movie a 70's look to it which I really dug, made it more authentic. Also, every time there is a stage and the band is playing is amazing. Also, the other casting is superb - Willie Colon, Ralph Mercado, Jerry Massucci were all perfectly cast.

Bad news... it is historically inaccurate, the music is all over the place, you would think it would follow some sort of chronology. There is too much Pucchi, I know the story is told through Pucchi's eyes but it takes away from the Hector story and it means that there is too much Jennifer in it. There are parts where you see Anthony performing a killer Hector track with the band and the focus should be just Hector but the director just has to show Lopez... it doesn't work and it's overkill.

But, I think the biggest problem will be a problem mainly for non salsa listening people (and that includes latinos). I've been reading a lot of reviews by non-latinos and they just don't get why Hector was big. They don't get it because they didn't grow up with salsa and they have no history behind it. The movie is very matter-of-fact that Hector is a legend and for someone who doesn't listen to 70's salsa or wasn't brought up with it they aren't going to understand that. In salsafied countries like Colombia, Peru, Puerto Rico, Panama, etc it won't matter because Hector is a legend. But in Australia, Britain, Europe, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, China, and non-Latin US (basically any country without a history of listening to salsa) forget it. It will matter big! So I have to agree, that's what Ray did really well... explain why Ray was big and that's why it translated even in non-English countries.

Also, I think the opportunity was missed to go into a bigger story of the salsa revolution in the 70's. This music sold millions and it sold all over Latin America and even West Africa where countries were known to be fanatical about (even though they didn't understand Spanish!). To this day it's legacy is still felt, if you go to Callao in Peru, Hector's image has been painted on walls there, go to Cali in Colombia and the people worship him, etc.

I also have to agree there was way too much on the drugs, and Hector's legacy, fame, and legend were not because he took drugs, it was because the music, lyrics and his persona touched people. He was tortured but he must have been happy at times too.

My wife and I are both Hector fans (though i am the fanatic) and we both enjoyed the movie, we will actually buy the DVD when it comes out. It could've been better though.