Our Latin Thing
| Our Latin Thing | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Leon Gast |
| Produced by | Larry Harlow Jerry Masucci |
| Cinematography | Ted Churchill Steven Harris Thomas Reichman Burleigh Wartes |
| Music by | The Fania All-Stars, under the musical direction of Johnny Pacheco |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | A&R Film Distributors |
Release date |
|
Our Latin Thing (Spanish: Nuestra Cosa Latina) is a 1972 documentary film directed by Leon Gast. The film documents New York City's emerging Latin music scene, centering on a Fania All-Stars concert organized by Fania Records management at Manhattan's Cheetah nightclub.[1] The film was distributed by A&R Film Distributors,[2] headed by Alex Masucci (Fania Records founder Jerry Masucci's younger brother and Fania Records vice president[3]) and Ray Aviles.
Production
[edit]The film grew out of Fania Records's effort to document and promote the New York salsa scene around the Fania All-Stars. The central concert was held at the Cheetah nightclub, at 53rd Street and Broadway in Manhattan, where Fania brought together label-related artists including percussionist Ray Barretto, trombonist Willie Colón, singer Cheo Feliciano, pianist Héctor Lavoe, Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez, Ismael Miranda, and label co-founder Johnny Pacheco. The film combines footage from the Fania All-Stars concert at the Cheetah nightclub with street scenes of Nuyorican life on the Lower East Side. Performances documented in the film and related live releases include "Descarga Fania", "Anacaona", "Quítate Tú", and "Macho Cimarrón".[4]
After the success of Our Latin Thing, Fania increasingly marketed salsa through the Fania All-Stars, emphasizing celebrity, Puerto Rican musical identity, and a broader sense of Latino urban community.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ Slater, Russ (29 November 2011). "It was our thing, Our Latin Thing: An Interview with Leon Gast". Sounds and Colours. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ "Our Latin Thing (1972) - IMDb". IMDb.
- ^ Gurza, Agustin (26 May 2001). "A Sea Change?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ "Our Latin Thing (1972) : Le Documentaire Culte de la Salsa | Fania". Le Studio24 (in Belgian French). 2024-07-17. Retrieved 2026-06-17.
- ^ "Salsa Is More Than Salsa (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2026-06-18.
External links
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