‘Bakosó’ Doc Traces The Origin Of The Afrobeat Wave In Cuba
Whereas Afrobeat has been storming shores throughout the globe, a a lot quieter cultural evolution has been going down within the streets of Cuba. In a brand new documentary referred to as Bakosó: AfroBeats de Cuba, Afro-Cuban pioneer Isnay “DJ Jigüe” Rodriguez travels again to his hometown, Santiago, the place he discovers a brand new musical style that has modified the entire city music scene.
The 50-minute documentary, directed by Puerto Rican filmmaker Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi, follows DJ Jigüe as he treks from the “most Caribbean metropolis of Cuba” to its numerous provinces reminiscent of Palma Soriano, to reconnect the Afro-Caribbean infusion with its diasporic roots.
Because the Havana-based DJ untangles the rise of bakosó, which was birthed within the streets of Cuba’s capital, the movie spotlights the youthful technology of tastemakers main the brand new wave of Cuba’s sound. The cultural motion started within the mid-2000s when a bunch of African medical college students, overseas for his or her alternate program, introduced the high-jacked rhythmic intonations of Afropop and Angolan kuduro to the shores of this Caribbean nation. Very like how hip-hop advanced due to new technological advances that enabled beat-making, it’s this cultural transmittance between the 2 entities that has slowly revolutionized Cuba’s nascent music scene.
To not be confused with Afrobeat or Trinidadian-founded soca, the Afro-Caribbean infusion is entrenched in Cuban cultural practices and traditions. Bakosó (which basically means “flip up”) is its personal distinctive sound separate from different diasporic sounds.
“Nearly all of the rhythms that come to the Caribbean come from Africa, and once they come to Cuba, they remodel and new genres and types are born. That’s what’s occurring in our streets,” Jigüe explains within the visible’s three-minute trailer.
Bakosó will premiere stateside in New York Metropolis on Sept. 21 on the 23rd annual Urbanworld Competition. A screening might be held on the AMC Theater in Instances Sq..