“In the name of the mambo and the rumba and the cha cha cha!” cries Cesar Castillo.
When this film and soundtrack were released in 1992, it was a good omen of things to come. The Mambo Kings, a touching movie about two Cuban brothers searching for fame in America in the 1950’s is based on the novel The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos. Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas (in his first U.S. film) gave excellent performances as Cesar and Nestor Castillo, two brothers devoted to eachother and destroyed by ambition. It features some great classic dance music and pays homage to the mambo dance halls of the 1950’s from Havana to New York. Many of the songs of the era are here, and after many years this disc has remained a constant favorite.
The CD was re-released in 2000 with two new songs, a remix of “Ran Kan Kan” featuring Olga Tanon that sounded better in the original version (thank God they kept it), and a new version of “Beautiful Maria of my Soul” with Antonio Banderas and one of the new ambassadors of Cuban music, Compay Segundo.
Celia Cruz and Tito Puento truly reign on this album. Queen Cruz kicks off with “La Dicha Mia”, a real gem, and “Melao de Cana (Moo La Lah)”. On a side note, this is one of the few times she’s recorded songs in English. You can’t help but love her version of “Guantanamera”, and if people don’t immediately start tapping their feet then there is something wrong with them . You can treat yourself with “Ran Kan Kan”, “Cuban Pete”, and “Para Los Rumberos” by the much loved and very missed Tito Puente, the true Mambo King. Arturo Sandoval plays a fiery “Mambo Caliente” that ends much too soon.
The blend of the old with the new is the cachet of this album. The classic version of “Como Fue” by legend Beny More sounds like its been played hundreds of time on the record player and the soundtrack is more the richer for it. The Mambo All-Stars version of “Tea For Two” is truly delightful. Linda Ronstadt steps in for very subdued versions of the late 1930’s standards “Quiereme Mucho” and “Perfidia”. Antonio Banderas proves he can more than carry a tune on the haunting ballad “Bella Maria De Mi Alma” while Los Lobos makes a go with their own distinct English version of “Beautiful Maria of My Soul.”
One listen is enough to hook you.
