AFROCUBA! Yo Soy, del Son a la Salsa: Special Film Screening!

Question: What exactly is “Salsa?” If you do not know, think you know, or know you know, you’ll still be in for a surprise if you haven’t yet seen the documentary movie Yo Soy, del Son a la Salsa (1997). You can watch it for FREE(!) Thursday night at Sutra Lounge in Adams Morgan, Washington, DC, at a special DC edition of AFROCUBA! According to several reviews, it is the most thorough historical treatment given on film to the dance music we now call Salsa. Many practitioners continue to disagree over what exactly it is – Celia Cruz, the great Afro-Cuban singer 

says in the film that salsa “is a marketing word, a myth I don’t think exists.” Whatever Salsa has become now, the film makes no bones about its populist roots in the mountains of Eastern Cuba, from the son music of Cuban campesinos (peasants) in the 19th century who were descended from African slaves (hence the title “From Son to Salsa”). Featuring interviews with a host of Afro-Cuban musicians including Ruben Blades, Willie Colón, Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, Chucho Valdés, Celia Cruz, et al, there is also rare archival footage of some of the early legends of the music. That alone makes me feel like I’ll be in for a delicious treat! Check out AFROCUBA at Sutra Lounge, 2406 18th Street NW; it’s billed as “A monthly party with all the Afro-Cuban Vibes and beyond!” Thursday’s show starts at 8pm, with music by resident DJ Asho playing the “best of Salsa, Timba, Gaunguaco, Rumba, y Yoruba!” Happy hour specials (of course ) Bless…

Related Articles

• 123 reviews of Salsa (rateitall.com)
• Chucho Valdés and The Afro-Cuban Messengers -][- Chucho's Steps [Four Quarters] (theurbanflux.wordpress.com)

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