Celia Cruz Movies

Presented in conjunction with the landmark "Rumble in the Jungle" boxing match between famed pugilists Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, Zaire '74 was a three-day music festival in Kinshasa that was organized by South African musician Hugh Masekela and American record producer Stewart Levine, and featured performances by such famed musicians as James Brown, Bill Withers, and B.B. King, among others. Many of the American musicians performing at Zaire '74 had been emboldened by the American Civil Rights movement, and saw their journey to Africa as a unique opportunity not just to perform for a new set of enthusiastic fans, but to explore their roots as well. However, while the forward-thinking promoters of Zaire '74 hired a talented team of documentary filmmakers to capture everything from the setup to the performances to everyday life in Kinshasa, the project ran into trouble when the Liberian investment group that financed the festival and film ran into some rather serious legal disputes. For the next three decades, the remarkable footage would sit untouched and unedited -- a valuable sociohistorical artifact seemingly forgotten, and left to succumb to the ravages of time. Later, in 1996, the rights were settled in order to help facilitate the completion of When We Were Kings, an Academy Award-winning documentary focusing on the very same Ali/Foreman match that took place alongside the Zaire '74 music festival. Recognizing the need to assemble the neglected Zaire '74 footage while it was still possible, When We Were Kings editor Jeffrey Levy-Hinte made it his own personal mission to see the long gestating project through to completion. The result is not simply a concert film featuring some of the most popular African and American musicians of the era, but also a pure cinéma vérité glimpse into a time when the musical crossover between the two nations was just beginning to emerge. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Celia Cruz: Azucar! presents a special tribute concert to benefit the Celia Cruz Foundation. Hosted by Gloria Estefan and Marc Anthony, the concert features more than a dozen Latin music performers and includes performances by Victor Manuelle, Paulina Rubio, and José Feliciano. Celia Cruz herself performs "Yo Vivire" and "Quimbara." ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

For over 50 years, Cuban-born singer Celia Cruz entertained audiences as one of the most successful Latin pop artists of all time, topping the charts and winning three Grammy awards. This release from Sony Discos is a DVD-single for the song "La Negra Tiene Tumbao" and includes both a music video for the song and a karaoke version for those fans who wish to add their own vocals to the tune. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Learn to do Elmo's new favorite dance, "The Conga-Wiggle," in this bilingual video from Sesame Street. Join Gabi, Rosita, Maria, Luis, and their friends as they prepare for the fiesta. All the songs are performed in English and Spanish, and the video features performances by Latin stars Celia Cruz and Linda Ronstadt. Kids will be singing "uno, dos, tres" in no time. Recommended for ages two to five. ~ Heather M. Fierst, Rovi

Old and new loves are turned upside down through a complex case of mistaken identities in this romantic comedy-drama. In 1980, Juan Raul Perez (Alfred Molina) is released from a Cuban prison after spending 20 years behind bars and is allowed to join a mass emigration to the U.S. While Juan was incarcerated, his wife Carmela Perez (Anjelica Huston) escaped to Florida with their daughter, and Juan lives for the day when they can be reunited. En route to Miami, Juan meets Dottie Perez (Marisa Tomei), a fiery young woman who wants to leave behind her career as a prostitute. Juan and Carmela miss finding each other when his boat reaches Miami, and immigration personnel mistakenly assume that Juan and Dottie Perez are husband and wife; when they learn that families tend to find American sponsors much faster than individuals, they play along with the mistake, even convincing other Perezes to pose as their child and grandfather. Juan discovers that trying to renew an old relationship isn't easy as one tries to start a new life, especially since Carmela has attracted the attentions of police lieutenant John Pirelli (Chazz Palminteri). Cuban jazz legend Arturo Sandoval contributed to the soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

New York art dealer Arne Glimcher took his first crack at film directing with this florid, high-energy romance about two brothers who flee Cuba in the early 1950s to make it as musicians in the United States. Cynthia Cidre wrote the literate screenplay adapted from Oscar Hijuelos's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. Cesar (Armand Assante) and Nestor Castillo (Antonio Banderas) are popular musicians on Havana's club circuit, but when they make enemies of the wrong people, they are forced to leave for New York City, the moody Nestor leaving behind his true love. In New York, the brothers work as meat-cutters during the day as Cesar tries to organize a band and make inroads into the lively New York music scene. Soon, as The Mambo Kings, they get club bookings and Cesar falls in love with a sharp-tongued cigarette girl, Lanna Lake (Cathy Moriarty), and Nestor with the beautiful Delores Fuentes (Maruschka Detmers), who wants to be a teacher. Cesar concentrates on singing and managing the band, while Nestor plays the trumpet and writes emotional songs of love. All seems to be going well until Cesar antagonizes the moneymen on the Latin nightclub circuit and they finds themselves playing bar mitzvahs. But after they're discovered by Desi Arnaz (Desi Arnaz Jr.), the group is prominently featured on I Love Lucy. Their popularity soars and they cut a successful album called "Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love." Cesar is glorying in his success, but Nestor is disappointed and longs to return to Cuba. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Born in New York in the '60s, salsa is a hip grooving fusion of jazz, pop, and traditional Latin melodies. Filmed in 1979, this video offers a documentation of the scene as it existed then, featuring performances by such stars as Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, and Celia Cruz. Besides being a performance video, this tape is a documentary about the roots of this exciting brand of dance music, transporting viewers back to Puerto Rico to investigate salsa's birth in the rituals of Santeria, a fusion of Animism and Catholicism. ~ Rob Ferrier, Rovi

In this suspenseful crime drama the trouble begins when the healthy wife of a crippled plantation owner prepares to leave with her handsome lover. Just before she does, her ailing husband tells her that he will only live a few months more, and if she remains with him she will inherit $20 million. She then dumps her lover and returns to her husband. Time passes and he is still alive. She grows impatiant and pushes her husband and his wheelchair into the swimming pool and gets her money. Afterward, she murders a snoopy servant, but in the end one of her late husbands' servants avenges his death and kills the conniving wife. Meanwhile, the lover returns to the piano bar where he met the woman. The film was shot in oppulent Havana, Cuba before Castro came to power. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi