“Hello my Toronto Dance Salsa family!

I checked out the new movie, El Cantante, starring Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony on the weekend and all I can say is: wow! El Cantante is based on the life of salsa legend Hector Lavoe, played by Marc Anthony. It starts off with Puchi, played by Jennifer Lopez, being interviewed about her life with Lavoe. The story begins in 1963 when Lavoe leaves his native Puerto Rico against his dad’s wishes to pursue a singing career in New York City. Shortly after he arrives there, he meets Puchi, they become smitten with each other and end up getting married and having a child.

The movie is all about Lavoe’s life with Puchi and his rise and fall from stardom. It shows how he got signed with his first record deal and how he became a huge star, teaming up with Willie Colon, then branching off and going solo. It also shows Lavoe’s turbulent relationship behind the scenes with Puchi. Looking on the outside, many of us would think that being a world-renowned singer with lots of money would be a fantastic life to live. But this movie shows you both the wonderful times Lavoe had and the very,very dark times he experienced.

I won’t tell you too much because I really want all of you to go check it out for yourselves. But I don’t recommend that you take your kids to see this movie. There is some sexuality, profanity and many scenes that show drug use. Leon Ichaso directed the film and he did a terrific job, style-wise. He used black and white documentary-type imagery when Puchi was being interviewed about Lavoe’s life, and colour to show the scenes in real time. I liked how the movie progressed with a timeline, showing Lavoe’s life in years leading up to his death. The one thing I didn’t like about the film was that it ended somewhat abruptly. It skipped a block of time in the end and went from an accident that Lavoe survived to text on the screen stating that he died five years after at the age of 46. I would’ve liked to have seen more about the times closer to his death and how Puchi’s life was after Lavoe’s passing.

Overall, I really think you will love this movie. The music is so good, I found myself dancing in my seat and I wanted to go out dancing right after the movie finished! I even caught myself watching Jennifer Lopez’s footwork while she was dancing…can you say I’m a Toronto Dance Salsa student??!!

My fellow dancers, go check out El Cantante, I give it 4 out of 5 stars. I’m sure you’ll all really like it. ”

Reshma Ramjattan

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So to combat the lack-of-dance-movies-blues, Evan and I, alongside Evan’s parents Annamarie and David, rented the movie Marilyn Hotchkiss’ Ballroom Dancing and Charm School. It looked to be a small independent movie which is not my usual cup of tea but the word “dancing” and the cover of the DVD sold me so we rented it.

In case anyone was planning on seeing this movie, here are my thoughts on it. First of all, if you wanted a movie with dancing scenes in it, you will be disappointed. There was very little dancing to be seen and what was shown was very basic lessons in cha cha and merengue with the wrong music played. Definitely did not satisfy me in that way.

What was left was a very slow, although touching, story of healing and love through dance. At Marilyn Hotchkiss’ dance school, several mourning widowed gentlemen found laughter, joy and even new romance through the miracle of dance.

The story was somewhat choppy, lacked some details to make it truly believable and was too slow for the most part, but if you are looking for a simple background movie while you are doing something (e.g. working on a puzzle as in Annamarie’s case), it will be a nice movie to see.

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Hector, who was born in Puerto Rico and moved to New York in the 1960s, grew to become one of the most famous salsa singers in history. His popularity still lives strong with clubs continually playing his popular hits and new salsa bands reliving his music.

Hector Lavoe is played by Marc Anthony who is also an extremely popular Latin artist. Alongside his real-life wife, Jennifer Lopez, who plays his on-screen wife, the movie is said to pack some powerful performances. Both Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez are Puerto Rican and this was a labour of love project. The movie is said to be heart-warming, funny and a sad story of the death of one of salsa’s greatest performers.

Looking forward to letting you all know how the movie turns out. For more info on the movie and to see a sneak preview video, click here.

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