New Sounds of Cuba
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Synopsis by Nathan Southern
New Sounds of Cuba, an unofficial follow-up and companion piece to Wim Wenders and Ry Cooder's 1999 documentary The Buena Vista Social Club, revisits many of the same performers as that earlier film -- all international superstars of Cuban music, among them Pio Leiva, Julio Fernández, and Guillermo Rubalcaba. But whereas the Wenders film successfully created a musical ethnological portrait of a disappearing culture, and thus seldom featured full-length renditions of songs by virtue of intent, New Sounds of Cuba is a concert film in which the legends of Son play several full numbers highlighted in the Wenders documentary. Songs include "Danzon y Son," "El Cuarto de Tula," Instrumental y Bolero," A Buena Vista Barrio de la Habana," Francisco Guayabal," and Chan Chan."