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Chico and Rita

08/24/2011 By 1 Comment

by Eileen Rivera

Boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy loses girl, boy finds girl again, and again. Typical love story? Maybe, but the animated movie, “Chico and Rita” takes it to a whole new level. Against a backdrop of 1948 Cuba, Paris and NYC, this film seduces the viewer with its sensuality, such that you forget you’re watching an animated film.

The film opens in present day Cuba, where we find an old man walking home from his job shining shoes. A glass of rum and an old love song, on the radio, leads to reminiscing. Chico, a relatively unknown pianist, meets Rita, a relatively unknown vocalist, in a smoky club. Chico is on a ‘date’ with an American tourist. As he and his friends are beginning their evening, a woman on stage begins singing and Chico’s attention is immediately diverted. Singing a bolero, Rita captures his attention such that Chico believes he would die if he couldn’t have her. Chico is a Latin jazz artist, a genre that was in its infancy in 1948. Out of his love for her, Chico writes a piece of music with a melody that pops up throughout the film and brings their love story to life. Jealous lovers and not-so-well-meaning meddlers interfere time after time to break them up, but in the end love prevails to a collective sigh from the audience.

With a Latin jazz soundtrack, I really wish the Grammy people would see this film, if only to get a taste of the proud tradition and rich sound of Latin jazz. Rita’s singing, voiced by Idania Valdes, can only be described as velvety. There is a richness and a depth to the singing that just touches the soul. The talent involved in this film brings depth and humanity to the story.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMdL4Y5KB6A]

Check out this film, just send the kiddies to another room.

Copy Editor, Eileen Rivera.

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of
the author and should not be understood to be shared by Being Latino, Inc.

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About Eileen Rivera

Eileen was born in The Bronx, to Puerto Rican parents. She grew up thinking the whole world was Latino. Moving to Rockland County in upstate New York taught her it wasn’t. One more move in 1976, brought her to Hudson County, New Jersey where she currently resides. She attended Rutgers-Newark where she majored in Social Work with a minor in Puerto Rican studies. Eileen credits her history professor, Dr. Olga Wagenheim, for the spark and impetus to search out her roots in a pre-computer era. The daughter of a minister, she credits her father for the activism, volunteerism and search for justice that have characterized her adult years.

The mother of two adult daughters, Eileen has worked in the Juvenile Justice system for twenty-eight years. She acts as a liaison between the Juvenile Detention Center and the Juvenile Court.

Writing was something she shared with family. Stories and songs for her children and Christmas tales for the extended family. She now shares her writing with a larger family, the Being Latino family.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and should not be understood to be shared by Being Latino, Inc.

Comments

  1. George Acevedo says:
    09/05/2011 at 10:13 am

    I saw this movie several months ago and was blown away by it. This is an animated film for adults and it’s subject matter is adult, culturally significant (hey a film with Dizzy, Chano and Puente…CONO!) and illustrates just the tip of the great stories that Latinos have to offer. I understand Disney had the marketing rights but really didn’t know how to promote it. It can be seen on any of the bootleg online outlets but it truely deserves to be seen on the big screen.

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