El Cantante
Encyclopedia
El Cantante is a 2006 American film released in the United States on August 3, 2007. The biopic stars singer Marc Anthony
and actress-singer Jennifer Lopez
(she also served as an executive producer for the film). The film is based on the life story of salsa
legend Héctor Lavoe
(played by Marc Anthony
). In the film, Marc Anthony portrayed a music legend and "Anthony's personal tribute to Lavoe was his imitation of not just Lavoe's style, but his voice, his delivery, his timing – well, it was quite amazing and true to Lavoe."
The film debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival
on September 12, 2006. The film runs 106 minutes and has an R rating due to scenes depicting drug use, pervasive language and some sexuality. The film chronicles Héctor Lavoe's rise to fame, his battle with drugs, his attempted suicide, and his death from AIDS
.
Some film critics have expressed their surprise at the relatively high profile given to the Puchi character in the film (as compared to Nilda Perez's relatively subdued influence over Lavoe's career). The film was criticized for its formulaic writing and hollow character development. It received a 22% "rotten" certification from the entertainment website Rotten Tomatoes
with the consensus being it "adheres to the most basic conventions of the musical biopic, rendering it indistinguishable from others of its ilk".
, which opened #1 at the U.S. Box office during its opening weekend, was screened in nearly 4,000 theaters. El Cantante made about US$6,004 per theater in its opening week. The films distributor, Picturehouse, has rearranged how the film is distributed in an attempt to target the film to its audience. Each film print cost Picturehouse US$2,000. Picturehouse removed El Cantante from theaters which showed softer sales while opening in more theaters where demand was high.
Fans of the film point out that the film did cover briefly the issue about Lavoe not getting paid by Jerry Masucci. Eddie, played by Manny Perez, says to Hector:
Lopez responded to the criticism when interviewed by the Los Angeles Times : "I don't know what movie they want to see, because this is the truth."
Another controversy is the amount of screen time Jennifer Lopez has in the film. Critics of the film say that Puchi played a small role in Hector's musical life, while fans say the story is told from Puchi's point of view so she had to be shown as present in much of the film.
When commenting on the film, Lopez felt her performance should have earned Oscar nomination and blamed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
for overlooking both the film and her performance.
Marc Anthony
Marc Anthony is an American singer-songwriter, actor and producer. Anthony is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. The two-time Grammy and three-time Latin Grammy–winner has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. He is best known for his Latin salsa numbers and ballads...
and actress-singer Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
(she also served as an executive producer for the film). The film is based on the life story of salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
legend Héctor Lavoe
Héctor Lavoe
Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez , better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican salsa singer. Lavoe was born and raised in the Machuelito sector of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Early in his life, he attended a local music school and developed an interest inspired by Jesús Sánchez Erazo. He moved to New York...
(played by Marc Anthony
Marc Anthony
Marc Anthony is an American singer-songwriter, actor and producer. Anthony is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. The two-time Grammy and three-time Latin Grammy–winner has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. He is best known for his Latin salsa numbers and ballads...
). In the film, Marc Anthony portrayed a music legend and "Anthony's personal tribute to Lavoe was his imitation of not just Lavoe's style, but his voice, his delivery, his timing – well, it was quite amazing and true to Lavoe."
The film debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
on September 12, 2006. The film runs 106 minutes and has an R rating due to scenes depicting drug use, pervasive language and some sexuality. The film chronicles Héctor Lavoe's rise to fame, his battle with drugs, his attempted suicide, and his death from AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
.
Critical reception
"Ms. Lopez brings a lot of fight to her performance, a hard, skeptical edge that makes Puchi a more interesting and plausible character than her husband."Some film critics have expressed their surprise at the relatively high profile given to the Puchi character in the film (as compared to Nilda Perez's relatively subdued influence over Lavoe's career). The film was criticized for its formulaic writing and hollow character development. It received a 22% "rotten" certification from the entertainment website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
with the consensus being it "adheres to the most basic conventions of the musical biopic, rendering it indistinguishable from others of its ilk".
Principal cast
- Marc AnthonyMarc AnthonyMarc Anthony is an American singer-songwriter, actor and producer. Anthony is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. The two-time Grammy and three-time Latin Grammy–winner has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. He is best known for his Latin salsa numbers and ballads...
– Héctor LavoeHéctor LavoeHéctor Juan Pérez Martínez , better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican salsa singer. Lavoe was born and raised in the Machuelito sector of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Early in his life, he attended a local music school and developed an interest inspired by Jesús Sánchez Erazo. He moved to New York... - Jennifer LopezJennifer LopezJennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
– Nilda Georgina "Puchi" Roman - Federico CastelluccioFederico CastelluccioFederico Castelluccio is an Italian-American actor and professional visual artist, who is best known for his role as Furio Giunta on the HBO TV series, The Sopranos.-Early life:...
– Jerry MasucciJerry MasucciJerry Masucci was a co-founder of Fania Records.-Early life:Masucci was born October 7, 1934, in Brooklyn, to parents Urbano and Elvira Masucci. He had a brother named Alex Masucci... - Vincent LarescaVincent LarescaVincent Laresca is an American actor.Laresca first appeared in film in 1992, in the movie Juice as Radames. Since then, he has appeared in many popular films, including The Devil's Advocate, The Aviator, Empire, Coach Carter, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Baz Luhrmann's William...
– Ralph Mercado - Víctor ManuelleVictor ManuelleVíctor Manuelle, born Víctor Manuel Ruiz on November 4, 1968 in Bronx, New York, is a successful Latin Grammy nominated Puerto Rican American salsa singer, songwriter, and improvisational sonero, known to his fans as El Sonero de la Juventud...
– Rubén BladesRubén BladesRubén Blades Bellido de Luna is a Panamanian salsa singer, songwriter, lawyer, actor, Latin jazz musician, and politician, performing musically most often in the Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz genres... - John OrtizJohn OrtizJohn Ortiz is an American actor and Artistic Director/Co-Founder of LAByrinth Theater Company.-Career:In 1993, John made his film debut as Al Pacino’s young cousin ‘Guajiro’ in Carlito’s Way. He went on to appear in over 30 films including El Cantante, Take the Lead, Before Night Falls, Amistad,...
– Willie ColónWillie ColónWilliam Anthony Colón is a Nuyorican salsa musician. Primarily a trombonist, Colón also sings, writes, produces and acts. He is also involved in municipal politics in New York City.-Early years:...
Box office
The film opened at #12 at the U.S. Box Office, grossing over US$3,254,000 on its three-day weekend, with a total gross of US $7,556,712. The film was screened in only 542 theaters throughout the United States, a substantially small number of theaters compared to number of theaters that The Bourne UltimatumThe Bourne Ultimatum
The Bourne Ultimatum is the third Jason Bourne novel written by Robert Ludlum and a sequel to The Bourne Supremacy . First published in 1990, it was the last Bourne novel to be written by Ludlum himself. Eric Van Lustbader wrote a sequel titled The Bourne Legacy fourteen years later.A film titled...
, which opened #1 at the U.S. Box office during its opening weekend, was screened in nearly 4,000 theaters. El Cantante made about US$6,004 per theater in its opening week. The films distributor, Picturehouse, has rearranged how the film is distributed in an attempt to target the film to its audience. Each film print cost Picturehouse US$2,000. Picturehouse removed El Cantante from theaters which showed softer sales while opening in more theaters where demand was high.
DVD release and sales
Released on October 30, 2007 El Cantante became a DVD hit. Peaking at #8 in the DVD chart, it grossed $16.61 million on DVD.Criticism
Willie Colon, Lavoes' long time friend and musical partner, was critical of the film, writing on his web site:The Creators of El Cantante missed an opportunity to do something of relevance for our community. The real story was about Hector fighting the obstacles of a non-supportive industry that took advantage of entertainers with his charisma and talent. Instead they did another movie about two Puerto Rican junkies. The impact of drugs in the entertainment industry is nothing new; look at Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Whitney Houston today.
Fans of the film point out that the film did cover briefly the issue about Lavoe not getting paid by Jerry Masucci. Eddie, played by Manny Perez, says to Hector:
"Jerry (Jerry Masucci) used to be a cop, then a lawyer, now he's a thief, robbing every Latin musician blind – but, he's all we've got."
Lopez responded to the criticism when interviewed by the Los Angeles Times : "I don't know what movie they want to see, because this is the truth."
Another controversy is the amount of screen time Jennifer Lopez has in the film. Critics of the film say that Puchi played a small role in Hector's musical life, while fans say the story is told from Puchi's point of view so she had to be shown as present in much of the film.
When commenting on the film, Lopez felt her performance should have earned Oscar nomination and blamed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
for overlooking both the film and her performance.
Awards and nominations
- ALMA Awards: nomination for Outstanding Performance of a Lead Latino /a Cast in a Motion Picture.
- Premios JuventudPremios JuventudPremios Juventud is an awards show for Spanish-speaking celebrities in the areas of film, music, sports, fashion, and pop culture, presented by the television network Univision...
: nomination for Best Movie and Best Actress (Jennifer Lopez) - Latin Grammy AwardsLatin Grammy AwardsA Latin Grammy Award is an accolade by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. Unlike the regular Grammy Award which primarily honors music produced in the United States, the Latin Grammy honors works produced anywhere around the...
: Won Best Salsa Album, Marc Anthony (El Cantante soundtrack) (see Latin Grammy Awards of 2008Latin Grammy Awards of 2008The 9th Annual Latin Grammy Awards took place on November 13, 2008 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas and were aired on Univision. The Brazilian Field awards were presented on the same day at the Ibirapuera Auditorium in São Paulo. The Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year was Gloria...
)
External links
- Official site
- El Cantante on the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...