Product Description

Santo Domingo Blues is the fascinating tale of how Bachata, a music genre once vilified by the Latin upper class as the bawdy ghetto soundtrack of brothels and vulgar cabarets, came to rival meringue and salsa as the preferred music of the Latin world. Through performances, first-person interviews and telling verite scenes with guitarist and guitarist and singer/songwriter Luis Vargas - and his fellow bachateros, viewers are treated to not only a bittersweet success story on one immigrant artist, but an understanding of this once-maligned music style. Following Vargas' poignant journey from New York City back to his hometown of Santa Maria in the Dominican Republic, award-winning director and producer Alex Wolfe tells the story of Bachata's transformation from a "song of bitterness" to an emblem of Dominican national pride.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #100504 in DVD
• Brand: IMAGE ENT.
• Released on: 2007-03-27
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: Spanish
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 75 minutes

Features

• Santo Domingo Blues is the fascinating tale of how Bachata, a music genre once vilified by the Latin upper as the bawdy ghetto soundtrack of brothels and vulgar cabarets, came to rival meringue and salsa as the preferred music of the Latin world. Through performances, first-person interviews and telling verite scenes with guitarist and guitarist and singer/songwriter Luis Vargas - and his fellow b

Customer Reviews

A True Masterpiece!!!
I loved this documentary, I hope they make more like it. It shows the true roots Bachata music. If you're a Big Bachata fan and love the Dominican culture as I do, then do yourself a favor and buy it. This one's special.

Very good portrait of a modern bachetero
. I'm gonna ac This is originally tiled "Los Tigueres de la bachata" which in Spanish translates to, basically "Santo Domingo Blues." It is primarily about one of bachata's most promosing artists of the last 20 years, Senor Luis Vargas. If you have not a freaking clue what "bachata" music is about this is pointless. But if your knowledge of Latin music is somewhat decent, then this should be added to that ever growing collection. Here we have a story told about bachata music, and it's most fervent proponent of the last 20 years, Luis Vargas, the music that Dominicans once deemed to be of the "lower class." Since the 90's bachata has gained incredible popularity, and you cans ay it was the reggaeton of the 90's....surpassing merengue in every way. Truth is, Luis Vargas is interviewed in this doc and reveals how bachata goes way back!~ He lists artists like Luis Segura from the 60's and 70's who pioneered the style and influenced him a s young bachatero. Other thaN that it is really nothing more than a profile of one of New York and Santo Domingo' wildest songwriters and fingerpickers. I happen to be from New York, not Dominican, olf mixed backround including Latin, but didn't really discover my "Latin roots" till later in life. Most of the interviews are conducted in Spanish and follow Luis as he is some sort of pop star representative of bachata from gig to gig, which is fine. He completely deserves it , if you listen to his guitar work and music the dude gets busy. But if you have the slightest interest in bachata and Latin music at large, this is not what you want. This isn't Santana we are talking about. There is great footage of the "pioneers" of bachata such as the aforementioned the very talented Yoan Soriano, pioneer bachatero/rocker en espanol pioneer Luis Dias and "El Ciego" de la Nagua. these including some interesting shots of a real life musician in every day life...who just happens to be a star among Dominican people everywhere.