A Review of ‘B is for Bachata’: A middling tribute to Dominican music and dance
A young Dominican American learns about the music of his ancestors.
‘B is for Bachata’: A middling tribute to Dominican music and dance
Cast: Franceli Chapman, Nelson Estevez, Marilyn Jimenez Mark (voice), Andresito Germosen De La Cruz, Cesar Pichardo, Glorelys Mora, Ricky Rosario (voice)
Critic’s Rating: 2.5 Stars out of 5
Director: Ricky Rosario
Duration: 13 minutes
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Musical, Documentary
Language: English, Spanish
Release: 2024
What’s it about?
A young Dominican American learns about the music of his ancestors.
Review:
Can the knowledge of one’s culture and ancestry mould one’s sense of identity, even in a melting pot like Urban U.S.A? That seems to be the general premise to this moderately interesting but ultimately mediocre Short about Bachata – a style of romantic music originating in the Dominican Republic. While the film’s theme is well set up and an evident amount of labour has gone into splicing together visual, music, archive footage and voice, the audience is left wanting to know more about this ethnic music's roots, influence and evolution.
B is for Bachata opens at a barbeque party marking the college graduation of Yonathan (Andresito Germosen De La Cruz) – an American of Dominican descent. The sun-drenched backyard venue is alive with Bachata vibes as the guests shake a leg to the contagious melody and beat. But Yonathan who gets chatting with his cousin Manny (Cesar Pichardo), looks on cynically and doesn’t seem too impressed with the cultural indulgence. Another cousin Beatris (Franceli Chapman) who appears to be more “in step” with the activity, chides Yonathan for his lack of enthusiasm. She disdainfully refers to Yonathan and Manny as “the White boys”.
What follows is a collage of guitars and posters mentioning names of famous Bachata performers. These include such musicians as Anthony Santos, Luis Vargas, Juan Luis Guerra and Kilo Rodriguez along with the ambitious Aventura and Romeo. As Beatris piques Yonathan’s interest in the music of his ancestors, he is compelled to look up Bachata dance moves on social media. Beatris also scoffs at her male cousins’ apparent lack of passion for Bachata and their interest instead in contemporary mainstream American pop. Then, Yonathan’s mother (Glorelys Mora) enters the scene with a startling revelation about her father (Nelson Estevez) and information about Bachata’s history back in its homeland.
There is an intriguing attempt here to mesh fiction with documentary. But the success of interweaving comedy-drama with poignant historical facts is limited - perhaps due to the film’s Short format. Also, while the interspersing of spoken Spanish and English by its handful of characters is a nice touch, it causes some of the dialogue a tad hard to follow. Still, there are some keen observations about Bachata, especially Beatris’ remark about its engaging of “the heart and the hips”. Though somewhat lacking in its overall effectiveness, this film by writer-director-editor Ricky Rosario still works as a mild tribute to an intrinsic part of Dominican culture.
