El Cantante

Though they don't look much alike, slight actor-singer Marc Anthony was born to play robust salsa sensation Héctor Lavoe. In addition to similar ancestry and vocal skills, Anthony has been building a respectable cinematic resume with roles in Big Night and Martin Scorsese's Bringing out the Dead. The title of El Cantante comes from a number Rubén Blades wrote for The Singer. Lavoe would make it his signature song. In the film, Anthony's wife, producer Jennifer Lopez, plays Puchi, the Nuyorican beauty who won Lavoe's heart. She narrates their story from the perspective of 2002 (the real-life Puchi passed away shortly afterwards). Leon Ichaso (Piñero) contrasts Lavoe's rise from Puerto Rican street singer to New York superstar with his fall from innocent immigrant to heroin-addicted ladies man. By the mid-1980s, Lavoe's popularity hit its peak, and Ichaso spends the rest of the time ticking off the tragedies of his final years: the break with trombonist Willie Colón (John Ortiz), stay in a mental ward, etc. It's a dynamic portrait, and Anthony and Lopez work well together, but despite the urban setting and Latin-flavored soundtrack, El Cantante follows virtually the same trajectory as Ray and Walk the Line (Ichaso has also directed biopics of Jimi Hendrix and Muhammad Ali). His movie looks and sounds authentic, but Lavoe's story might've been better served as nonfiction. There's a sense that there was more to the man than what appears on screen. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Customer Review: El cantante sings!
I loved this movie and I also love JLo and Marc Anthony! I think this movie was underrated. If you are truly interested in Hector Lavoe, you will love it. If you buy it just cause you want to see JLo and Marc, you probably won't like it. They are good in the movie but the story is what made it for me. Of course, it goes without saying, Marc Anthony's voice is supberb!
Customer Review: WONDERFUL....
I rented this film recently and was surprised at how good it was. The story depicts the stormy life and tragic end to the great salsa legend Hector Lavoe. This movie hits you in the heart from the start. It makes you care about the character and his music. I now own a cd of Hector Lavoe and I never knew I could like salsa. Who knew?? His music is amazing and the tragic events of his life makes you want to know the person behind the prose of his songs. My ears know good music when it hears it and this man was a icon. Hector Lavoe.......rest in peace! I'm not much of a fan of Jennifer Lopez but she played a good role. However, another actress (a more popular one) would have made this film more marketable to the non-Hispanic population ( mass audience).

How could this be? I've been turned off by hip hop lately because of all the "kill yo momma" talk and these idiotic dance songs. I can't superman. I makes me exhausted! Actually, I couldn't even stomach the song long enough to listen. What I miss is a good artist that says exactly what they mean and you don't have to chase around metaphors to find out what heck they're trying to say. Maybe I am just old school. I don't know. But I have discovered an artist on MySpace and I think he is the next major recording artist with record sales out of this world.

He calls himself King D.A.D, but also goes by Jer-Z Fresh. I don't quite understand why he has two names, but I didn't care after listening to his songs on MySpace. The first song I heard was called "Welcome." This is the song that plays first when you open the page. The way it was constructed, the song was telling me welcome to the website and filling me in on the artist. It did have a few vulgarities in it, but the overall feel and wordiness of the song captured me. Something about how he matches words and syllables with great beats.

The second song "Sex With A Rapper" had a fantastic chorus, but upset me at first because the use of the word "bitch." Also, he seemed to be taunting the women in the first verse by saying her nickname and mentioning her friend. If his bio is truthful, he is really talking about a relationship that he was in. Now the reason why I wasn't upset in the end is because... Actually, I'm not going to tell you because there is a major twist on the last verse and I ended up feeling bad for him. I can relate to both of those relationships and what he says is actually how I felt in those instances.

At King D.A.D's skill level, I am really surprised that this lyricist isn't signed to a major label yet. Why? I am putting both of my thumbs up in approval! I'm not sure if he's on tour, but I hope he goes all the way!

You can find his site at http://myspace.com/kingdad

Junior writer extraordinaire.

80's dance music