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VIDEO: Watch the Trailer for MAMBO MAN

In 2017, after more than half a century since Castro’s revolution, Cuba opens her arms to the West and the Yankee dollar.

By: Jan. 14, 2021
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In 2017, after more than half a century since Castro's revolution, Cuba opens her arms to the West and the Yankee dollar. Born into communism, JC (Héctor Noas) thinks himself a big fish in a small pond - a local music producer and promoter, farmer and small-time hustler who lives by his wits and imagination. To support his family and small circle of 'business associates' and maintain his local "Godfather" status, JC lives beyond his means - something that creates undeniable strain in his marriage.

Watch the trailer for "Mambo Man" below.

When his crops are threatened by late rains, JC has to juggle the demands of organizing concerts while also sourcing pig feed, fixing water pumps and entertaining a group of visiting British music tourists. Along the way, there is betrayal and heartbreak but behind JC's wisecracking persona is a considerate man. He's not greedy -- he just wants to provide for friends and family and escape the precarious, hand-to-mouth existence that threatens to derail his life at any moment. When an unexpected phone call offers him the chance to make a fortune, he undertakes a frantic search for cash to, hopefully, change his life for the better.

Revealing the passion, ingenuity and humor of ordinary Cubans struggling to survive under the US embargo and the unyielding constraints of communism, MAMBO MAN, based on a true story, truly captures the beauty of the country, and provides a refreshing, un-romanticized, alternative image of the country. Instead of the crumbling colonial grandeur of Havana, audiences will discover the lush, tropical landscape of the Eastern part of the island, including Bayamo and Santiago de Cuba, an area well known as the birthplace of legendary Cuban musicians.

Music is essential to the film. Some scenes unfold against the backdrop of massively popular live concerts, with performances by the legendary Candido Fabre, Maria Ochoa and Alma Latina, David Alvarez and Arturo Jorge. The soundtrack features members of Buena Vista Social Club, including Grammy® Award winner Eliades Ochoa, Juan de Marcos Gonzalez of the Afro-Cuban All Stars, Omara Portuondo, and others, creating a celebratory mood and atmosphere.



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