

This was Banderas' first movie in the US, what a treasure he is, he expresses more in his eyes and face than most actors do with words and full body physicality. It is a touching film and the entire cast is more than terrific in the roles they play.and YES.that is actually Armand Assante on those drums! P.S: The Sound Track to the film is wonderful and you will be singing the lovely "Beautiful Maria of My Soul" on and off for years to come.enjoy!Ĭuban rhythms aren't my favorite, however, the stirring performances of Assante and especially Banderas wrap the viewer in the period, the music and the pain of lost love. It is what happens from this point onward that will tell us whether or not the Castillo brothers will ever break through the oppressive web of the Latino mob like figures and whether or not they will ever be successful otherwise and own their own club, as Nestor has envisioned.
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They are a hit on the show and Cesar believes they are now free and clear to do whatever they wish. From the minute the two enter their first Latino club in New York and Cesar creates an opportunity to play alongside the great Tito Puente, you know that something important is going to happen.The ray of hope burns brighter when Desi Arnaz happens to catch their act at the very popular club on a night they are performing and invites them to appear on the "I Love Lucy" show. Cesar vows never to be ruled or bought by anyone but finds that a hierarchy does exist in the USA as well and it is they who dictate who does and who does not perform at the most popular Latin clubs in the community. Maria, it seems, is burned into his soul forever. Nestor is writing "Beautiful Maria of My Soul" for his beloved and he remains hopelessly in love with her even as they travel further and further away from her. The very beautiful Maria has, without warning or true explanation, broken off her relationship with Nestor and has suddenly married another man! The man is mob connected and threatened Maria with Nestor's life if she didn't marry him instead of Nestor! Only Cesar knows the real story behind the marriage and almost loses his own life after having his throat cut from ear to ear during the confrontation with Maria and the man. and Tito Puente, who plays himself! The brothers leave Cuba because of a death threat to Nestor. Cathy Moriarity, Maruschka Detmers, Roscoe Lee Brown and Celia Cruz are also in the cast as is Desi Arnaz, Jr., portraying his father, Desi Sr. To learn more about how and for what purposes Amazon uses personal information (such as Amazon Store order history), please visit our Privacy Notice.Īrmand Assante and Antonio Banderas portray brothers, Cesar and Nestor Castillo, who are "The Mambo Kings." The two flee Cuba to come to America for a better chance at a more successful career in show business during the 1950's. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie Preferences, as described in the Cookie Notice. Click ‘Customise Cookies’ to decline these cookies, make more detailed choices, or learn more. Third parties use cookies for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalised ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. This includes using first- and third-party cookies, which store or access standard device information such as a unique identifier. If you agree, we’ll also use cookies to complement your shopping experience across the Amazon stores as described in our Cookie Notice. We also use these cookies to understand how customers use our services (for example, by measuring site visits) so we can make improvements. We use cookies and similar tools that are necessary to enable you to make purchases, to enhance your shopping experiences and to provide our services, as detailed in our Cookie Notice.
