On September 26 at the CineFest Latino Boston annual film festival, the world premiere of Paquito D’Rivera: From Carne y Frijol to Carnegie Hall will be shown. The sixty-minute documentary, directed by Juan Mandelbaum, is a coproduction of Geovision and Latino Public Broadcasting.
This lively and heartfelt documentary traces the remarkable life and career of Paquito D’Rivera, a 16-time Grammy and Latin Grammy-winning artist whose boundless musical curiosity defies genre. A virtuoso clarinetist, saxophonist, and composer, D’Rivera left Cuba in 1980 at great personal risk, forging an immigrant success story defined by brilliance, humor, and reinvention.
Filmed across New York, Boston, Miami, and Uruguay, the film features intimate performances and collaborations with D’Rivera’s longtime friend Chucho Valdes and world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
Juan Mandelbaum, Director, had this to say about Paquito D’Rivera.
“I have always been drawn to Paquito’s music because he has such a distinct, joyful sound, which I can instantly recognize. It’s a personal challenge, and pleasure, to find the man, and the stories, behind that sound. I have seen him perform many times and have marveled at the way he connects with his audiences. They always leave with a smile, having experienced joy. That is an art in itself.“
The documentary screens September 26 at 7:00 p.m. at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The film is in English and Spanish, with English subtitles. Tickets are available from the Museum.
About Director Juan Mandelbaum
Juan has made over 30 award-winning documentaries on a variety of subjects. His music projects include “Caetano in Bahia”, on the great Brazilian singer/songwriter Caetano Veloso (available on YouTube.) His film “Our Disappeared”/”Nuestros Desaparecidos”, on people he knew who were kidnapped and disappeared during the 1970s dictatorship in Argentina, has played in over thirty festivals worldwide and aired on the PBS series INDEPENDENT LENS.
About CineFest Latino Boston
CineFest Latino Boston is an annual celebration of Latinx stories and culture through the power of cinema. Each year, they bring together filmmakers, artists, and audiences to uplift diverse voices and foster community through compelling films from Latin America, the U.S., and beyond.
