tue 05/11/2024

Latin Music USA, BBC Four | reviews, news & interviews

Latin Music USA, BBC Four

Latin Music USA, BBC Four

Definitive documentary series packed with rare footage.

Los Tigres del Norte, Grammy-winning Tex-Mex Superstars

Latin Music USA is a long-overdue exploration of the Latino influence on American popular music. The four-part BBC Four Friday-night series zooms in on the bicultural American populations rooted in Cuba, Puerto Rico and Mexico, but living in their original entry points, Miami, New York, LA and the Tex-Mex border. The series examines the lifestyles and politics behind the music and their impact in the US beyond Spanish-speaking neighbourhoods. “Each programme looks and feels different, matching the cultures,” explains the London director, Jeremy Marre. In the early days, the Cubans and Puerto Ricans were absorbed as New Yorkers, but on the West coast the Mexicans were still called "shit-kickers".

Latin Music USA is a long-overdue exploration of the Latino influence on American popular music. The four-part BBC Four Friday-night series zooms in on the bicultural American populations rooted in Cuba, Puerto Rico and Mexico, but living in their original entry points, Miami, New York, LA and the Tex-Mex border. The series examines the lifestyles and politics behind the music and their impact in the US beyond Spanish-speaking neighbourhoods. “Each programme looks and feels different, matching the cultures,” explains the London director, Jeremy Marre. In the early days, the Cubans and Puerto Ricans were absorbed as New Yorkers, but on the West coast the Mexicans were still called "shit-kickers".

Acrobatic, proto-break-dancing mambonik performances are favourites in any TV programme about vernacular dance

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