11 Blues traveller
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Susan Thomas
Abstract
This chapter examines Habana Blues within the context of the increasingly transnational scope of Cuban culture. Of particular interest is how the film, and its music, participates in the ongoing discourse surrounding diasporic Cuban identity. Habana Blues was a box-office hit in Spain, where over 600,000 people saw it in its opening weeks. One of the most interesting aspects of Habana Blues is the way it blends several filmic genres with the dramatic demands of its fictional narrative. Most apparent in the discourse surrounding the film is the real and perceived influence of documentary, and it is often compared to other Cuban music documentaries such as Buena Vista Social Club and Arturo Soto and Jorge Perrugoría's Habana Abierta, which documents Habana Abierta's 2003 homecoming concert in Havana. The music of Habana Blues amplifies the issues of diaspora and identity foregrounded by the film's plot and highlighted by filmic techniques.
Abstract
This chapter examines Habana Blues within the context of the increasingly transnational scope of Cuban culture. Of particular interest is how the film, and its music, participates in the ongoing discourse surrounding diasporic Cuban identity. Habana Blues was a box-office hit in Spain, where over 600,000 people saw it in its opening weeks. One of the most interesting aspects of Habana Blues is the way it blends several filmic genres with the dramatic demands of its fictional narrative. Most apparent in the discourse surrounding the film is the real and perceived influence of documentary, and it is often compared to other Cuban music documentaries such as Buena Vista Social Club and Arturo Soto and Jorge Perrugoría's Habana Abierta, which documents Habana Abierta's 2003 homecoming concert in Havana. The music of Habana Blues amplifies the issues of diaspora and identity foregrounded by the film's plot and highlighted by filmic techniques.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vii
- Contributors ix
- Acknowledgements xvi
- Introduction 1
- 1 Singing of dubious desire 17
- 2 Voicing gender 30
- 3 Bien pagá 51
- 4 El otro lado de la cama 66
- 5 On the function of punk aesthetics in Salto al vacío and Historias del Kronen 83
- 6 Mobile soundscapes in the quinqui film 98
- 7 Song-shaped cinema 114
- 8 Travelling song 134
- 9 Sound moves 151
- 10 The Afro-Cuban soundscape of Mexico City 167
- 11 Blues traveller 189
- 12 Dancing in the dark 206
- 13 Re-making Frida Kahlo through song in Frida 220
- 14 ‘Silence! Fado is about to be sung’ 235
- 15 Sounds from Brazil 249
- 16 Soundtrack to roguery 264
- 17 The Brazilian chanchada’s musical moments and the performance of identity 283
- 18 Orpheus in Babylon 298
- Index 315
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vii
- Contributors ix
- Acknowledgements xvi
- Introduction 1
- 1 Singing of dubious desire 17
- 2 Voicing gender 30
- 3 Bien pagá 51
- 4 El otro lado de la cama 66
- 5 On the function of punk aesthetics in Salto al vacío and Historias del Kronen 83
- 6 Mobile soundscapes in the quinqui film 98
- 7 Song-shaped cinema 114
- 8 Travelling song 134
- 9 Sound moves 151
- 10 The Afro-Cuban soundscape of Mexico City 167
- 11 Blues traveller 189
- 12 Dancing in the dark 206
- 13 Re-making Frida Kahlo through song in Frida 220
- 14 ‘Silence! Fado is about to be sung’ 235
- 15 Sounds from Brazil 249
- 16 Soundtrack to roguery 264
- 17 The Brazilian chanchada’s musical moments and the performance of identity 283
- 18 Orpheus in Babylon 298
- Index 315
