by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
A- Rated R 106 min
Set to a pulsating Latin beat, this is the gritty docudrama of Hector Lavoe’s (Mark Anthony) drug-addled life as a hot Latin singer who brought the salsa movement to the United States from Puerto Rico in the 70s. The story is told through the eyes of Hector’s wife Puchi (Jennifer Lopez) as she recalls her twenty tumultuous years as Hector’s wife to an interviewer in Hector’s old studio.
Put into the context of the times, when drug use among musicians was rampant, the story of Hector Lavoe’s rise to stardom symbolizes the Latin branch of hippiedom–circa mid-60s through the 70s. Mark Anthony is riveting as the charismatic singer who charged into the life of a Latin idol with abandon. Hector treated his career as one big party, but when he laid eyes on Puchi, he knew she was his soul mate.
Before long, the two were inseparable. Hector waltzed into Willie Colon’s band, fusing meringue, samba, and Latin jazz into a gumbo sauce called salsa. Puchi was Colon’s backup singer. But when Puchi hooked up with Hector, she became his full time assistant, nurse and protector. Already heavily into a heroin addiction when he met Puchi, Hector needed 24/7 care, which Puchi gladly provided. She tells her interviewer that Hector just walked into stardom and lived a charmed life. His remarkably strong voice never wavered, even when he was wasted on stage–which was always.
As the years passed, Hector was in demand as the world’s foremost salsa singer. He and the band played sold-out concerts and produced gold and platinum selling records. Hector was on top of the world, but his drug addiction was taking its toll. Often late for concerts, coming to shows so wasted he could hardly stand up, Colon was tired of depending on Hector. Eventually the two split up and Hector hired other players. More importantly, Hector’s descent into chronic heroin addiction had worn thin with Puchi. They were fighting constantly and he would go off on binges for days at a time. By the 80s, Hector’s career was on the downslide.
Although Puchi was heavily into cocaine, she would chide Hector for his drug abuse as if her habit was acceptable, which would have made her a hypocrite, but at the time, cocaine was considered a benign drug, like marijuana. Still, despite their fighting and problems, Puchi loved Hector–the kind of deep love that allowed her to go through hell to hang onto their relationship.
Director Leon Ichaso melds the music with the drama, effectively creating an exciting dramatic mix of emotional fireworks as Puchi’s narration bares all their dirty little secrets. Jennifer Lopez
and her real life husband Mark Anthony put aside their own steamy relationship to get inside their characters with insightful acting. Anthony handles Hector’s vocals with his powerful voice, accompanied by the hottest Latin backup band ever to appear in a movie.
In one key scene, Hector and Puchi are having a rational conversation about their marriage. Hector says that they have never been sober for all those years. Of course, it was sadly true, and Hector paid the price, ending up in the psycho ward of Belview. When he got out of rehab, Hector tried to go straight, but sobriety seemed alien to him and he didn’t recognize himself. He does some concerts straight and tries to patch up his relationship with Puchi. It doesn’t last long.
Back on the horse (heroin), Hector tries to bring back his lost glory but no one wants him around. This begins his long downward spiral. Viewers marvel at how long Hector lived through all those years high on smack. His colleagues, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, were long gone victims of heroin overdoses. However, Hector did enjoy a high level of stardom that only a handful of artists ever achieve. He hit it hard and then went out while his legacy was still intact. This film is a joyous celebration of Hector Lavoe’s rocking life. Like Hendrix and Joplin, Hector Lavoe symbolizes the two-decade long drug binge of the 60s and 70s–Latin style! I-yi-yi!
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
