“Asi es la vida. Mirame a mi: demasiado Cubana pa’ vivir en Nueva York, y demasiado New Yorkina pa’ vivir en la Havana.” (“That’s life. Look at me: too Cuban to live in New York, and too much of a New Yorker to live in Havana.”
I suspect that these lines, uttered by Grammy-nominated singer CuCu Diamantes in the trailer for her new film Amor Crónico, will resonate with the many Latinos living in the U.S. who have a foot in each culture but do not fully belong to either. At least they did for me.
The film, which kicks off the annual celebration of Latin cinema that is the NY Havana Film Festival next Friday, follows Diamantes as she tours Cuba, interweaving live concert footage with a fictional love story. It’s not made explicitly clear in the trailer, but that love story appears to be between Diamantes (who, as you can see below, is an alabaster stalk of a woman) and a little person.
The self-described comedy will surely play on these physical contrasts, but in all seriousness it’s kind of awesome to see a romance like this brought to life (the only other example I can think of being Peter Dinklage’s relationships on Game of Thrones). Plus the music is sure to be awesome. I recently saw Diamantes perform at BAM’s Red Hot + Cuba show and she had the entire audience on their feet.
You can check out the trailer below, and the film on Friday, April 12th at 6:30 pm at the Director’s Guild Theater. More details here. If you like what you see, make sure to check out Diamantes’ live performance at Joe’s Pub on April 13, where she’ll be celebrating the release of the film’s soundtrack. More details here.
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