Ok. The closing night film was exactly the film I had been waiting to see all weekend. I love rock music, love history, born and raised in California.
All good.
And let me start by saying how proud I am of the audience tonight. You all showed up, wanting to get into the door on a Sunday night. You asked good questions and wanted to end the Fest on a high note. Really all the crowds have been great. The Fashion group were impassioned. The Kunstler crew opened up the place big. Very cool Stockton. Very cool.
The film was centered around the East LA Chicano music movement. Ritchie Valens and Cannibal and the Headhunters were the obvious big names that director Jon Wilkman focused on. They scraped a sound to make a name for themselves outside of Anglo rock and roll and traditional Mexican music. Bands likeThee Midnighters went beyond the British Invasion to infuse soul and Motown into the scene. Los Lobos brought it all together to keep the legacy alive.
I was amazed at how much music was interjected in the hour long documentary, which coincidentally was the biggest expense that Wilkman had mentioned while making the film. The life breathed into the film with pictures and eye popping graphics brought a strong visual connection that young people need to connect to the stories of the past. My favorite part came when Lalo Guerrero spoke on what it meant to him to be given the National Medal of the Arts. Truly awesome.
No spoilers here though. Go buy the DVD.
No comments:
Post a Comment