SalsaVideoReviews.org
"This is a must buy for anyone interested in Cuban music, dance,
culture... We loved this video. This video gives an overview or a look
into Cuban music & dance & culture. The video was filmed in 2001-2002
so it gives you views of some of the most current groups & dancers
in Cuba today playing both traditional & modern music & dance
styles."
Jan Wax - Radio KZYX - Philo, Calif.
"This video dances with so much of the musical spirit of Cuba. Informal
gatherings with neighborhood musicians, club dates, spontaneous dancing,
an amazing lurch through the crowded streets of Santiago during Carnaval
- the China Cornet and brake drums wailing. A smokin' descarga in an alleyway.
A jazz saxophone quartet. Want to see what the Casa de Trova and Casa
del Caribe look like? They're all here. The cameraman must have made himself
invisible to capture the life in this film. Highly recommended."
David Penalosa -Vice-President Bembe Records
"Boogalu Productions has created one of the best videos of Cuban
music and dance I have ever seen! Despite the seemingly "low-tech”
one-camera approach, they have achieved a sense of intimate excitement.
With none of the typical distractions of the quick edits associated with
a multiple camera shoot, the viewer can sit back and take in the visual
and auditory feast. It feels like you are there with a ring-side seat.
Be prepared to see some unique music and dance"
Brian Dring - Rhythm Magazine
"I was blown away by a documentary on Cuban music and culture which
came my way recently. Tremendo Vacilon presents only a slice of the vast
array of the fresh and as of yet undiscovered raw talent in Cuba today.
The camera moves restlessly from one scene to scene, exploring the incredible
diversity of music being rehearsed and performed in living rooms, bars,
casinos, park benches and basements. Cubans love their music and the scenes,
both intimate and unrehearsed, reveal how inseparable are the music and
the dance which accompanies it (or it the other way around?) .
Included is footage of a group of young rappers polishing their craft
in a makeshift studio, casino and cabaret dance couples with a dizzying
repertoire of moves, a street rumba band, changui performers, a jazz quartet,
and a few minutes of Carnaval Comparsa which bears striking resemblance
to the same celebration as it is enjoyed in Brazil, Haiti, Trinidad, or
even New Orleans.
While Buena Vista Social Club captured the essence of established practitioners
of an older era of Cuban music, this film concentrates on the vibrant
scene going on in Havana and Santiago today."
A.S. - The Netherlands
"I just wanted to give you some feedback on Tremendo Vacilon... Great!
is just the word for it... my girlfriend got so excited when she saw the
couple 'Sensacion de Habana' dancing, that she pulled me off the couch
and we started dancing and copying their combinations right then and there!
As I'm the casino addict of the two, her seeing this DVD got her entirely
contaminated with the casinobug as well... Gracias!!".
Zeno Okeanos - Boogalu Associate Producer
"Boogalu Productions has captured something very special
with this latest film Tremendo Vacilon shot on location in Havana and
Santiago de Cuba last year. Described as "18 intimate performance
events", I would like to add the cinematography to this list. Granted
that Cuban musical and dance talent would seem to be ubiquitous, it is
no small matter to capture this with a camera.
We are fortunate that this film compiles a cornucopia of fortuitous moments,
spontaneous events, and cooperatively planned displays. One is awed by
the diversity of the talent both in front of and behind the camera.
Independent film making has entered a new era with the combination of
digital video, digital desktop editing, and the internet. Cocteau's dream
was that the film would rival poetry when the tools would be as available
as pen and paper. Well, maybe we are there. For the price of a rare antique
Parker pen and a stack of custom handmade paper, you got it. Forget the
Hollywood production studio and the million dollar budgets, we now have
film poets blossoming all around us able to express themselves without
the usual and predictable fetters. But you, yes you, need to complete
the equation. And what a wonderful thing it will be.
Now what's left, is for you, the potential audience, to circumvent the
corporate hold, and seek out what you know to be of deep interest to you,
and buy the book, the poem, the CD, or the video. Dreamers, start your
search engines, and go to Boogalu.com.
If you liked the Buena Vista Social Club or thought it was interesting,
and if you enjoyed the series called Routes Of Rhythm about the history
of Cuban based music, then I think you will find much substance in Tremendo
Vacilon. But alas, you may not be able to see this independent video in
a theater near you or even on PBS anytime soon. This is a grass roots
production made in the spirit of the independent film poet, for the aficionado,
which, for the mere price of two good CDs, you can own for repeated viewing
and learning... yes there are dance moves and drum parts that will be
a revelation to you. The overview will move you. That is the special something
I was talking about.
I had the good fortune both to spend time with Señor Boogalu in
Cuba in the summer of 2000 and also to be able to give him some post production
assistance from my own years as a filmmaker. He has taken to the camera
most naturally and also to film editing. What I first noticed is how he
was able to flow with the people in Cuba. There is much mutual respect
and love. This is how he happens to be in the right place at the right
time so much of the time. I truly believe he has a special talent in that
context and am looking forward to the future productions which will be
drawn from his next visits there.
Those of us who love this music and dance and are engaged by the richness
of the popular and folkloric culture can look forward to further installments
which may hold some more of the answers to its mysteries."
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