Customer Reviews

Latin Music USA

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First things first. I feel that I need to respond to the previous moron's review. A person named Garcia should really do some deep study, not only on Latin Music but also on his/her own Latin culture. To say that Selena brought Latin music to the awareness of the American and Hispanic people is a travesty and an insult to pioneers like Richie Valens, Desi Arnaz, Celia Cruz, Xavier Cougat, Santana and the list goes on and on. Please Garcia, try to sound somewhat intelligent and don't sound off at all. Thank you!

That off my chest, I give this series 5 stars. It has been presented well with research and documentation. It truly gives the background through the eyes of the artists themselves and those who worked with them. It shows how Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and others influenced the Latino music culture in the U.S. I watched this series on PBS and I highly recommend it whether you are Hispanic, African-American, Anglo or any other culture that wants to find out the background to one of the great music genres that melt in to the great American music melting pot.

This four-part, four-hour documentary was shown over various PBS stations around the country. In some cities - Philadelphia, for instance - they only aired the last two parts - since these cover rock and roll and the huge crossover artists like Serena and Ricky Martin. But here you get the whole story from the beginning. Actually the series doesn't quite start with the earliest years. In a clever, and successful, effort to draw non-Hispanics into the story, writer/director Daniel McCabe (obviously not Latin) uses Carlos Santa's performance at Woodstock as the opening shot. This episode, titled "Bridges", then takes the viewer back to the artists who came to the US from Puerto Rico and Cuba and planted the seeds of a musical movement which now garners its own Grammy Awards show on prime time TV.

Earlier this year I reviewed an excellent - though much shorter - DVD documentary, "From Mambo to Hip Hop", and gave it five stars. Then this DVD came out and now I've seen two five-star productions on this often overlooked subject.

There is literally something here for literally everyone, though pop and jazz are the prime focus. There's not much here on those artists who brought traditional Latin folk music to the US and kept it in the same form. The emphasis is on how the Latin music melded with the American musical culture to form something new. There will be some surprises for most who only know the obvious Latin acts like Martin, Richie Valens, Celia Cruz, Ruben Blades and Prez Prado. The moment for me was learning of the Fillmore's Bill Graham's Latin heritage and why, and how, he booked Carlos Santana. You'll find your own discoveries.

The only bonus features on the DVD are two VERY brief sections on Selena's father and a fairly dumb section watching Latin hip-hopper Daddy Yankee sitting around. I'm not even sure why these were included. But, the four hours of the actual of the series are enough to make this required viewing for any music lover and it belongs in every high school and university music library. It'll be a long time before this subject is covered this well, and this accurate again!

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"

This dvd covers Latin music in the USA as comprehensive as possible. If there's another documentary that's better they've buried it forever. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

i agree with the previous reviewer. its a well made documentary on the history of latin music.

one thing however, that struck me as a bit erronous. in the "Salsa Revolution" segment, they mentioned that Masucci sold the label in 1980, thats not quite true, Fania in the 80's expirienced a reccession during that period. because alot of musicians complained about the questionable accounting practices along with the competition with Merengue which contributed to the decline of Salsa. Fania was still around but the label did not fall until the early 90's let alone no longer dominant in the latin music genre.

I had always thought Salsa music originated in either the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico. After viewing Latin Music USA, I realized I was totally wrong. As this skillfully produced documentary reveals, Salsa music is primarily an American invention. Although it has Afro-Caribbean roots, Salsa music got its commercial start in New York City. Surprised? I was. Goes to show you how important it is to pay attention to fine documentaries like Latin Music USA. This documentary doesn't just focus on Salsa. It covers the entire range of Latin music, from Merengue to Tex Mex to Chicano music of the 1960s and 1970s. Very interesting and worthy of purchasing if Latin music interests you.

I watched this program on PBS and enjoyed. Purchased the DVD, a gift, for a music professor in Puerto Rico.

Latin Music USA is an amazing DVD documentary of some of the greatest American music composed by Latinos. The history of modern Latin music is traced through four episodes - "Bridges", following the rise of Latin jazz and its influence on rhythm & blues; "The Salsa Revolution" about the creation of salsa the rise (and fall) of the legendary Fania Records, "The Chicano Wave" in which a new generation of Mexican-Americans experienced rock and rhythm & blues and added their own cultural twist, and "Divas & Superstars" of Latin pop, ranging from Ricky Martin, Shakira, and Gloria Estefan to Daddy Yankee and rapper Pitbull, to "rock en Espanol" star Juanes. A celebration of great music styles, the people who composed unforgettable songs and the glamorous individuals who peformed them, Latin Music USA is a joy to watch and highly recommended for both Latin music lovers and public library DVD collections.