Fandango at the Wall

(2020)

★ 8.7 IMDb · 113 votes

Genres: Documentary, Music

Year: 2020

Runtime: 93 мин

Country: Mexico, United States of America

Director: Varda Bar-Kar

Cast: Arturo O'Farrill, Jorge Francisco Castillo, Kabir Sehgal, Fernando Guadarrama, Patricio Hidalgo, Regina Carter, Douglas Brinkley, Mandy Gonzalez, Ramon Gutiérrez, Jacob Hernandez

Plot

Follow New York City maestro Arturo O’Farrill, Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra founder, to Veracruz, Mexico where he meets up with the masters of a 300-year-old folk music tradition called son jarocho and then joins them for a historical music festival called “Fandango Fronterizo” that takes place simultaneously on both sides of the United States-Mexico border transforming the wall from an object that divides to one that unites.

Fandango at the Wall follows Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra founder/conductor Arturo O'Farrill to the remotest regions of Veracruz, Mexico, where he meets and jams with the masters of son jarocho. Son jarocho is 300-year-old folk music rooted in the land that combines African, Indigenous and Spanish traditions. After Arturo's inspiring journey to a place where time seems to stands still, he and his orchestra join the masters of son jarocho at the border between the United States and Mexico for a son jarocho music and dance festival called Fandango Fronterizo (founded by Jorge Francisco Castillo). The festival takes place simultaneously on both sides of the United States/Mexican border transforming this object that divides to one that unites. With a poetic musical approach inspired by the son jarocho tradition, Fandango at the Wall reveals a Mexico seldom depicted, and delves into the current mass human migrations spurred by violence, poverty, and corruption.