Afro-Cuban Music

Through experimental polemics, observational studies and historical investigations, these inventive documentaries explore the African roots of Cuban music through the intersection of cultural and political struggle.

NOW! (1965)
Dir. Santiago Alvarez
6min, DCP

Influential Cuban filmmaker Santiago Alvarez combines footage of police brutality and Black Liberation from the 60s Civil Rights movement, scored by Lena Horne’s urgent musical call to action in a radical montage.

Habana Solo (2000)
Dir. Juan Carlos Alom
15min, Digital

A city symphony in miniature, Alom’s powerful short juxtaposes Havana’s streets and peoples and the music of Afro-Cuban street performers.

Y . . . tenemos sabor (1967)
Dir. Sara Gómez
30min, DCP

Following pioneering Rumba musician Alberto Zayas, this dynamic documentary takes us through the history of Cuban music.

A Short Radiography of Hip Hop in Cuba (2004)
Dir. Ricardo Bacallao
21min, DCP

A look at the history of hip-hop culture in Cuba through the eyes of Rodolfo Rensoli, founder of the Cuban Hip Hop Festival.