The Last Mambo Review in BeyondChron - 2020 United Nations Association Film Festival

by Peter Wong on October 27, 2020

Rita Hargrave and Reginald D. Brown’s documentary “The Last Mambo” offers a wonderful toe-tapping, skirt-twirling historical overview of the San Francisco Bay Area Latinx music scene.  It gives plenty of shoutouts to the various types of Latinx music genres available, going from mambo to charonga.  Venues which helped spread the music get their due, from the sadly defunct Sweet’s Ballroom and Jimbo’s Bop City to the still vibrant La Pena Cultural Center.  For those who want to track down the works of Latin music artists for their collections, a cornucopia of names get thrown out over the course of the film.  They include Celia Cruz, Benny Velarde, The Panamanians, Cal Tjader, Conjunto Cespedes, and Pete Escovedo.  History fans will enjoy learning about the role of the tardeadas in spreading the popularity of Latin music. These fans will also love hearing why Oakland became the epicenter for the influx of Africans and Latinx coming to the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1940s.  All these tunes, facts, and old images are delivered in the film in a nicely punchy style.  Add in plenty of footage of people over the years enjoying dancing to the Latinx music beat, and it’s hard to deny the film is an entertaining introduction to a vital cultural scene.

As a caveat, the political aspects of the Latinx music scene get insufficiently developed in  “The Last Mambo.”  Integrated dance floors admittedly cheese off the racists.  Yet the film leaves hanging what else Latinx music means outside of the genre’s infectious rhythms.  Does the music symbolize an emotional strength not broken by slavery or other socially unjust arrangements?  Does the music offer a subversive message that’s slipped under the awareness of social oppressors?  “The Last Mambo” remains silent about such considerations to its detriment.  If Latinx music does indeed offer something more than catchy dance rhythms, it’s not unreasonable to ask for help to clue in the average viewer.

Also left up in the air by the film’s end is whether there will still be a Latinx music scene in the San Francisco Bay Area’s future.  On one hand, gentrification has led to the closure of such beloved San Francisco Latinx music mainstays as the Elbo Room and Jelly’s on Pier 50.  On the other hand, since Latinx music draws its roots from oral traditions, dedicated teachers can help pass the music to interested students.  Percussionist Orestes Vilato would add that the techniques for playing the music can be passed on.  Possessing the right degree of passion to play Latinx music, on the other hand, comes from the musicians themselves.

The Last Mambo in the News!

We’re just thrilled to share SFMOMA staff writer Kit Robinson’s wonderful new article about The Last Mambo!

The Last Mambo: Documenting Bay Area Salsa and Latin Jazz

by Kit Robinson 11/20/2019

The last mambo. Really? Will the forces of real estate speculation and the tech economy bury this living mix of African, Latin American and US culture that finds expression in music and dance? Or will diverse Bay Area communities continue to congregate and thrive, drawing strength from deep traditions, while building social and educational opportunities for positive learning and growth?

In The Last Mambo, her debut film, Rita Hargrave documents the history and current state of salsa and Latin jazz in the Bay Area. A native of Washington, DC, Rita is a practicing psychiatrist, a denizen of the dance floors, and a working musician. She hit on the idea for the film when a favorite Sunday afternoon salsa spot, Jelly’s on Pier 50 in San Francisco, closed its doors in 2010. Sensing an imminent threat to the scene as venues fell prey to commercial developers, Rita recognized the importance of documenting the story of Bay Area salsa and telling it to the world.

Salsa De La Bahia – A Salsa Explosion

Northern California is still rocking from the tidal wave of support for Salsa De La Bahia – the recently released 2 CD anthology of SF Bay Area Salsa and Latin Jazz artists. On September 12 the dance floor was packed and the music was hot and steamy at the nearly sold-out CD release party hosted at Yoshi’s Oakland. The mambos and cha chas of Edgardo Cambon Y Su Candela, flanked by Bay Area icons Wayne Wallace, Roger Glenn, John Calloway and Anthony Blea fired up the dancers so much that nobody wanted to go home at the end of the set.

Special thanks for this stellar event go to Luis Medina, guest DJ and music director at KPFA 94.1 FN who delivered infectious, hard core salsa grooves and Chuy Varela, master of ceremonies, who is known around the globe as an enthusiastic Latin Music, DJ, historian and music director for KCSM 91.1 FM

Final kudos to Andy Gilbert, whose elegantly written article Salsa de la Bahia Anthology Shows Evolution of Latin Music in Bay Area tapped into the public’s hunger for this land mark project and vaulted the album in to the #1 favorite load for Latin Jazz and Salsa on Amazon. Check out his article ‘Salsa de la Bahia’ Anthology Shows Evolution of Latin Music in Bay Area

Patois Records

Patois Records announce today the signing of filmmaker/dancer Rita Hargrave.

Patois Records and Ms. Hargrave are currently in production of “Salsa De La Bahia Vol.,1″ a musical compilation of the San Francisco Salsa/Latin Jazz communities to be released this summer. The CD features world renowned musicians John Calloway, Pete Escovedo, Edgardo Cambon, Roger Glenn, Karl Perrazo, John Santos, Orestes Vilató, Benny Velarde, Wayne Wallace and many more luminaries of the San Francisco Bay Area Latin music scene.

Also in production is the DVD “The Last Mambo” due to be released in early 2014. “The Last Mambo” explores the world of Salsa/Latin Jazz in the San Francisco Bay area from the diverse perspectives of dancers, DJs and musicians. The film discusses how the dance aesthetic, musical presentation and cultural context have changed in the wake of Afro-Cuban music’s growing popularity and commercialization. “The Last Mambo”, punctuated with interviews, photographs and concert footage captures the spirit of Salsa/Latin Jazz, celebrates its rich cultural heritage and debates the nature of its future.

Patois Records looks forward to sharing this legacy of great music with you!

The Last Mambo and Bahia Son

Hi All,

What a great summer of music.  The San Jose Jazz Festival as usual was a blast. I shot some great footage of Avance, a perennial favorite and Team Bahia (hard-rocking timba by local Cuban musicians).  I can’t wait to include some fo this in the film.

Want to get a sneak preview a snippet  of “The Last Mambo?”

Join us on Sunday at The Jazzschool in Berkeley.

THE LAST MAMBO and BAHIA SON
When: Sunday, August 19, 4:30 pm
Where: Jazzschool, 2087 Addison St, Berkeley, CA, 94704
Admission: $5-10 sliding scale
OPEN DANCE FLOOR AND MOVIE PREVIEW AT 5:30PM

The Last Mambo is a documentary film that explores the salsa/Latin jazz community in the San Francisco Bay Area from the diverse perspectives of dancers, DJs and musicians. The film traces the 60-year evolution of the West Coast Latin sound to show how the music and dance act as powerful force for community building. The film is still in production but come check out the latest clips.

Bahia Son plays Cuban son, salsa and Latin jazz for your dancing and listening pleasure. Bahia Son is: Rita Hargrave (timbales), Phil Montalvo (congas), Manuel Mejira (bongo/bell), Vicki Marinko (vocals and percussion), Tala Ibabao (vocals and percussion), Ahni Robinson (flute), Michael Commer (tenor sax), Kit Robinson (tres guitar) and Bob Camp (bass).

See you on the dance floor,

Rita

The Last Mambo

Hi all,

My relentless search for more Bay Area salsa history continues.  I just stumbled on to a great resource–the San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive. A moving image collection which  presents sixty years of social history and cultural revolution in the San Francisco Bay Area. Over 4000 hours of local newsfilm, documentaries and other programs have been donated to the J. Paul Leonard Library by broadcasters, production companies and private individuals, to be preserved as an academic resource.  A special thanks to Alex, the archivist, who is really helpful

Check out Cuban inspired art exhibit at the Video Room 4364 Piedmont Ave Ste A, Oakland ·Sketches, paintings and photographs that will put you in the mood for mambo. Open every day until 8 PM until end of August.

Then dig in at OUR CUBAN KITCHEN, “pops up” at the Guerilla Cafe, 1620 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, PH: 510-336-3085, Saturday, July 28, 6-9:30 p.m., These guys cooked up some great ropa vieja at Cock-a doodle last year.

Finally work up a sweat at Will Campa performing at Yoshi’s. It’s all good.

See you on the dance floor

Rita

Hazel’s Mambo Meets Manhattan

Hazel Hankin, a renowned photographer and devoted mambo dancer, has contributed some of her stunning photos to The Last Mambo.  Recently her long-term photo project, Mi Mambo, is featured in a post on the NYTimes Lens Blog.

Below there’s a link to it on the front page of New York Times with a thumbnail slideshow.

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/25/hazel-hankins-mambo-madness/?hp

To see more images from this series and others, please take a look at her new website www.hazelhankin.com.

I’ll see you, Hazel and all the other salsacrazies on the dance floor.

Rita