The World Premiere of Ricardo Bacallao‘s film documenting a unique tribute concert celebrating the music of Cuban jazz legend Bebo Valdés. Held on November 9, 2019 in Union City, New Jersey, the concert featured a big band of high-level musicians from the United States, Cuba, and Canada, all brought together by drummer and percussionist Emilio Valdés, Bebo’s grandson. Led by conductor Luis Columna, the band also included grandson Chuchito Valdés and Bebo’s youngest son, Ramón Valdés, both pianists. The film was made possible with the support of producer Lucio Fernández, Commissioner of Public Affairs of the City of Union City.
In this memorable musical tribute Ricardo Bacallao’s incisive lens has recorded for posterity a rare family homage to one of Cuba’s greatest musicians, intertwining the joy of his music and the pathos of nostalgia and family separation. The program features a poignant piece dedicated to María Caridad Valdés (Emilio’s aunt and Bebo’s daughter), who coincidentally passed away in Havana on the very day of the concert.
The film will be screened on our Vimeo channel one night only, and will be followed by a Zoom Q&A with director Ricardo Bacallao and musician and concert organizer Emilio Valdés.
TO WATCH THE FILM ON OUR VIMEO CHANNEL, CLICK ON THIS LINK:
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Ricardo Bacallao is a Cuban-American independent filmmaker. He is a 2003 graduate from Havana’s prestigious Instituto Superior de Arte, where he majored in radio, film, and TV directing. He received his Master of Fine Arts from NYU in 2012. His body of work is known for his long and short narrative films and documentaries, touching on topics like religion, music, and Cuban exiles in Berlin since the reunification of Germany. But his work also explores other themes, strongly influenced by a 3-year sojourn in Singapore during his graduate studies. His most recent films are Searching for Bebo, a Cuban Soul in Cold Lands (2022), a feature documentary film about jazz legend Bebo Valdés, and The Uncle’s Request (2022) a political thriller about hardline Cubans in the USA, shot entirely in New York City. Bacallao participated in the Berlinale Talent Campus in its first edition in 2003 and once again in 2004. In 2010 he earned an Emmy for his work on “NY Magazine” (CUNY TV), and in 2014 he received the Cuban-American of the Year Appreciation Award from the town of Union City in New Jersey. His documentary The Maji-Maji Readings was recently selected as a special entry in the 2022 Berlinale Forum. Ricardo Bacallao is currently based in New York and Berlin.
This special musical event is presented in celebration of Black History Month and is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York State Legislature.
With the promotional cooperation of
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