Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV (not in the PBS app)
"The Last Mambo" explores the past, present and future of the San Francisco Bay Area’s salsa and Latin jazz community. The film reveals how for decades socio-economic and political marginalization have threatened the growth and survival of the Latin music and dance community. Since the 1930s African American and Latino musicians have struggled under the weight of segregation to reach out to multi-ethnic audiences.
In the 1940s local bands and visiting headliners like Tito Puente courted largely minority audiences at venues like Sweet’s Ballroom in Oakland and Jimbo’s Bop City, a fixture in the largely African American Fillmore district of San Francisco. When Mambo swept the nation in the 1950s the music expanded to more high profile venues and reached more ethnically diverse audiences through the pioneering artistry of Cal Tjader and newly arrived Afro-Cuban percussionists Mongo Santamaria, Armando Perazzo and Francisco Aguabella. These musicians launched a tradition of cultural cross-pollination and social engagement among Latino and non-Latino musicians.
For the next 50 years, scores of dedicated Bay Area musicians and dancers have produced electrifying live performances and Grammy-winning recordings. They have also nurtured generations of Afro-Cuban music lovers of every age and ethnicity. The art form continues to inspire education, cultural preservation and community building.
Since 2000, however, the Bay Area Latin music community has been battling new forms of adversity. The region’s booming tech sector, sky-rocketing real estate prices and shrinking audiences have forced scores of Latin music venues to shut their doors. Yet undaunted, the energetic musicians, dancers and radio hosts of today strive to meet the challenge by transforming the future of salsa and Latin jazz through education and outreach at music schools, community centers and radio stations. "The Last Mambo" celebrates their passion and dedication to perform, educate and inspire the next generation of musicians, dancers and participants.
MUSICIANS:
Cesar Ascarrunz
David Belove
Anthony Blea
John Calloway
Edgardo Cambon
Bobi Cespedes
Jesus Diaz
Pete Escovedo
Roger Glenn
Rebeca Mauleon
Kat Parra
Louie Romero
John Santos
Benny Velarde
Orestes Vilató
Wayne Wallace
