You know the beats, you’ve danced to the rhythms, now find out the strory behind the legendary sounds with the VOD release in iTunes of the Latin boogaloo music documentary We Like It Like That.
Wowing audiences at the 2015 SXSW Festival (South by South West), and winning the Best Documentary Award at the 2015 Urbanworld Film Festival, We Like It Like That borrows its title from one of the music forms greatest hits to tell the story of Latin boogaloo, a colorful expression of 1960s Latino soul, straight from the streets of New York City. From its origins to its recent resurgence, it’s the story of a sound that redefined a generation and was too funky to keep down.
Directed by Mathew Ramirez Warren, We Like It Like That explores this fascinating, though often overlooked, bridge in Latin music history, showcasing the musical style that was born in the barrios of 1960’s NYC, fusing Afro-Cuban music with R&B, jazz, funk and rock. This Latin boogaloo would eventually spawn a generation of chart-topping music artists thanks to music labels Alegre, Cotique and, of course, Fania Record to create a global music movement that is once again alive and well today.The doc traces the history of boogaloo, including how it was sadly killed off by cultural and industry politics until its resurgance in the 2000’s.
Some of the notable artists presented include Joe Bataan, a former gang leader who spent several years in prison before starting a band and becoming known as the “King of Latin Soul” and continues to be one of the most popular and active Latin boogaloo luminaries working today; Ricardo Ray, a Julliard-trained piano player who along with his singer, Bobby Cruz, recorded the first known Latin boogaloo “Lookie, Lookie” and went on to enjoy international fame in Latin music; Johnny Colon, the influential multi-instrumentalist, composer and bandleader who was a key player in the boogaloo scene and behind the first major Latin boogaloo hit, “Boogaloo Blues ” a controversial song at the time for its chorus “LSD’s got a hold on me;” Jimmy Sabater, the late singer and percussionist for the Joe Cuba Sextet who helped write “Bang Bang,” the first boogaloo song to break through as a national hit; Pete Rodriguez, the bandleader whose group created “I Like it Like That,” the biggest Latin boogaloo hit of the 1960s and a repeat chart topper when it was covered in the 1990s.
Additionally, this past March 11, We Like It Like That: The Story of Latin Boogaloo Volume One original motion picture soundtrack will be released digitally on Fania Records, featuring 14 classic boogaloo tracks from legendary music icons featured in the film.
The film is also currently available for purchase at ReelHouse.org.
Additional Links:
- Official film site
- Fania Records
- The film’s Facebook page
- Twitter: @boogaloomovie
