summer 2007 series

We're bookending our summer calendar with two great music documentaries—both films have been compared to Buena Vista Social Club, and yet they feature music from opposite sides of the world.

Kicking off the summer is Los Zafiros: Music from the Edge of Time, which chronicles the history and music of a group that caused a huge sensation, elevating them to legendary status in their homeland of Cuba in the 1960s, but who remain largely unknown in the U.S. The two surviving members of the ground-breaking band, which melded together American doo-wop with Afro-Cuban rhythms, Salsa and other traditional Latin forms, reunite in Havana to recollect and recreate for us some of their shimmering past. These screenings are cosponsored with the Cuba Friendship Group of Greater Ithaca.

Closing out our summer season is Gypsy Caravan, a celebration of tzigane music which follows the 2001 U.S. “Gypsy CaravanÓ tour, a showcase of five bands from India, Romania, Macedonia and Spain. Alternating between live performances and visits to the musicians' homelands, the film is a thrilling combination of ethnography and concert film, and a perfect send-off from our summer groove!

Images from (top to bottom): Los Zafiros (2 images); Gypsy Caravan