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© D.R.
Our Latin Thing
The long-awaited remastered version of Fania’s Our Latin Thing is finally released. We review the historic New York City salsa film.
This film is no slick talking-head documentary. This is a free-form, hand-held classic, shot in the moment and packed end-to-end with spine-tingling New York Latin music. Made in 1971 and directed by Leon Gast (When We Were Kings), Our Latin Thing features the greatest stars on the NYC salsa scene at the height of their powers, just as they were about to take the world by storm.
First released by Fania in 1972 and now reissued in a long-awaited remastered package marking its 40th anniversary, the film is a celebration of New York’s Puerto Rican culture via its music. At the heart of Our Latin Thing is an ecstatic Fania All Stars show at the Cheetah club on 52nd Street in Manhattan that took place on 26 August 1971. It’s widely considered to be one the band’s greatest live performances. The club was home-turf, the atmosphere electric and the 20-strong line-up entirely made up of heavyweights. With six (!) singers including Hector Lavoe, Ismael Miranda and Cheo Feliciano, a blazing horn section featuring Willie Colon and Roberto Roena, Ray Barretto on congas, Orestes Vilato on timbales...as pianist Larry Harlow notes, it was “una noche inolvidable” (an unforgettable night).
Our Latin Thing – trailer
Intercut with this unique concert and rehearsal footage are city scenes of street jams (Orquesta Harlow playing Spanish Harlem) and sequences showing island life surviving in the barrio (from Santeria ceremonies to cockfights). Music was the greatest platform for Latin identity that Nuyoricans had, and with Fania “salsa” was a broad tag that bridged the sweetest folklore (check out Johnny Pacheco’s flute solo on ‘Lamento De Un Guajiro’) and brash jazz break-outs (‘Descarga Fania’).
With cameos from influential characters of the day, including legendary radio DJ Symphony Sid, and rare footage of so many of the key artists, Our Latin Thing is a historic record, shaky camerawork and all. Fania, founded by Pacheco and Jerry Masucci in 1964, may have come in for criticism for some of its business practices, but it was phenomenally successful in taking its artists from clubs to stadiums to global stardom. And there was a crucial awareness that, beyond the hype and savvy marketing, what they were witnessing was an extraordinary moment in Latin music history. The level of musicianship combined in one never-to-be-repeated supergroup – the Fania All Stars - was simply staggering. This warm, intimate glimpse of the early days is an absolute treat. Fans of Nuyorican music and those curious about New York’s beating Latin heart will love this film.
Jody Gillett
Our Latin Thing DVD + 2CD soundtrack is out now on Fania
More on Mondomix:
- Soul Power- Zaire 74
- From Mambo To Hip Hop – A South Bronx Tale
- Fania Records 1964-1980 - The Original Sound of Latin New York
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// ALSO
- The Original Sound of Latin New York
- Ray Barretto
- Fania Records
- Fania Records, Fania Records // Back to El Barrio
- Latin Music USA: the Barbican and BBC Four go Latin
- Movimientos Latin America Network
- From Mambo to Hip-Hop: A Bronx Tale
- From Mambo to Hip Hop, A South Bronx Tale
- Rich Medina and Bobbito, Rich Medina and Bobbito // The Connection
// ALL FANIA ALL STARS'S REVIEWS
Our Latin Thing
02/09/2011
// DISCOGRAPHY
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Lo que pide la gente (Album)
Live at Yankee Stadium Vol.1 (Album)
Live at Cheetah Vol 2 (Album)
Tribute to Tito Rodriguez (Album)
Live at Yankee Stadium Vol.2 (Album)
Live at Cheetah Vol 1 (Album)// LINKS
RELATED ARTISTS
>> Ray Barretto
>> Manu Dibango
>> Johnny Pacheco
>> Willie Colón
>> Hector Lavoe
REPORTS
>> Soul Power
>> Fania Records
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