Customer Reviews

The Puerto Rican Mambo (Not a Musical) [VHS]

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Puerto Rican Mambo: Not a Musical is perhaps one of my favorite movies of all time. If you like Woody Allen, just picture the main character and "narrator" of this journey through a day in the life of a Nuyoriquen, Mr. Luis Cabellero, as a "short, brown" (in his words) version of the neurotic comedien. This film has so many laugh-out-loud scenes, I've lost count! Luis Cabellero calls himself "a short brown man" and all he wants is "a little hug." He can't even get that, though....cuz, as he reiterates time and time again, he is Puerto Rican, and people think that he doesn't even deserve to live in their apartment, shop at their store, seek out employment at their convenient store or even own a Jeep that was not broken into "courtesy of a Puerto Rican." For some, this might seem terribly politically incorrect, and maybe even pushing the envelope a little too much. For me, this was great fun. Also, a special note---be sure to look for John Leguizamo (billed as Johnny Leggs) in a couple of sketches. Don't miss out on this underrated independent film!

I saw this movie at a Latino Film festival back when it first came out, and it was hilarious back then. There aren't a lot of movies showing a Puerto Rican point of view, so this is a one of a kind type of product. And the social commentary was strong, so strong in fact that Goya Foods had it banned from theaters in Puerto Rico. Any fan of cultures should find this an interesting film. It's also interesting from the point of view of the time period it represents (John Leguizamo couldn't have been more than 19 or 20 years old in this thing, lol).