Summaries

Aging Cuban musicians whose talents had been virtually forgotten following Castro's takeover of Cuba, are brought out of retirement by Ry Cooder, who travelled to Havana in order to bring the musicians together, resulting in triumphant performances of extraordinary music, and resurrecting the musicians' careers.

A group of legendary Cuban musicians, some as old as their nineties, were brought together by Ry Cooder to record a CD. In this film, we see and hear some of the songs being recorded in Havana. There is also footage from concerts in Amsterdam and New York City's Carnegie Hall. In addition, many of the individual musicians talk about their lives in Cuba and about how they got started in music.—George S. Davis

Details

Keywords
  • national film registry
  • musician
  • independent film
  • cuba
  • latin music
Genres
  • Music
  • Documentary
Release date Jun 3, 1999
Motion Picture Rating (MPA) G
Countries of origin United States Germany United Kingdom France Cuba
Official sites PBS
Language English Spanish
Filming locations Havana, Cuba
Production companies Kintop Pictures Road Movies Filmproduktion Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industrias Cinematográficos (ICAIC)

Box office

Gross US & Canada $7002182
Opening weekend US & Canada $127370
Gross worldwide $23142551

Tech specs

Runtime 1h 45m
Color Color Black and White
Sound mix Dolby Digital
Aspect ratio

Synopsis

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