J Lo, hubby celebrate legend
2006-09-15 08:12
Toronto - It might not seem a stretch
for salsa singer Marc Anthony to play a salsa legend and for
Jennifer Lopez to play his wife - the couple have been
tabloid fodder since their sudden wedding two years
ago.
But the pair found themselves somewhat outside their
respective comfort zones in making El Cantante, the
Lopez-produced film biography of salsa star Hector Lavoe, which
had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film
Festival this week.
Lavoe was an early star of salsa music, a hybrid of several
Puerto Rican and other Latin styles that emerged in New York
City in the 1960s and 1970s.
For Lopez, who balances a singing career with an acting
resume that largely consists of romantic comedies such as The
Wedding Planner and Maid in Manhattan, the film marks her first turn as producer. She also stars as Lavoe's wife, Puchi.
"When you're an actor, you just kind of do your work and
you leave it to everybody else," she said.
"But when you produce it, and it's your baby, and you've
been working on it for five years, so you have a little more at
stake."
The film, directed by Leon Ichaso, takes a warts-and-all
look at both the singer and his wife.
The narrative unfolds at a fast pace as Lavoe emigrates
from Puerto Rico to New York in the 1960s and quickly
establishes himself on the Latin music scene, armed with an
emotive singing style and superlative voice.
As he gains popularity, drug abuse, personal tragedy, and
infidelity take their toll on the couple, although Lavoe's
ability to wow crowds endures even as his personal life
collapses.
Struggled with singing
Lopez, who grew up in New York, the daughter of Puerto
Rican parents, felt the added pressure of trying to make a film
about a legend of her community.
"For me, salsa was the music we grew up with - my mother
would play it on the holidays at Christmas," she said.
"I think of people who were young and swinging at the time
he was young and swinging - they're looking at this like,
"That was my guy, that was my idol. Don't mess it up!"
For Anthony, a Grammy-winning singer who has also been
building a film career with well-received small roles in films
such as Man on Fire and Bringing Out the Dead, the part was a challenge, but not for the reasons he expected.
Rather than struggling with his first lead acting role, he
had to fight to get the hang of Lavoe's complex singing style,
which Anthony described as "singing between the notes".
"It blindsided me," he said.
"It was infinitely more difficult than I thought, because
his phrasing is so impeccable."
Lopez started on the project about five years ago, when she
was sent a copy of the script by screenwriters who had
developed it with Puchi, who wanted Lopez to play her. Puchi
died soon after.
Once Lopez decided to also produce the picture, she
immediately sought out Anthony to play the role of the singer.
Anthony, who attended Lavoe's funeral in 1993, said the
film was "owed" to Lavoe, for the influence he had on Latin
music.
- Reuters