Twitter: @danieluh
During the week when the electronic “uhntz-uhntz” is pulsing from every hotel rooftop, venue and amphitheater in Miami because of the WMC dance music festival, a new film will uncover the artists that are making a true, homegrown Miami sound. The documentary Miami Boheme: An American Musical Journey, is a 60 minute film that follows six local bands changing the landscape of the music scene in Miami.
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“This incarnation of the ‘Miami Sound’ is a fusion of what Miami is now,” says the film’s director Joe Cardona. “It’s a blend of Afro-Caribbean and latin sounds meshed with American funk beats and dance sensibilities.”
Born in Puerto Rico to Cuban parents, Cardona moved to Miami at the age of 4 and considers himself “a true Miamian.” While studying at University of South Florida, he decided he wanted to make films and since then he has directed 11 feature length documentaries, mostly dealing with issues of cultural identity and Cuban history.
“Miami Boheme is a story of Miami [cultural] identity through music. The motivation [for the film] is these unique Miami hybrid bands which have been the soundtrack of my life for over the last decade,” he says.
In the film, viewers will see in-depth interviews and performances by the bands Palo, Spam Allstars, Suenalo, Elastic Bond, Locos por Juana and Afrobeta at some of the venues that are becoming the center of this bubbling, cultural scene and sound.
The film is a proper representation of the city, a fusion of rhythms and cultures that takes you on a journey that is as vibrant and exciting as the city itself — in Spanglish, of course. The bands play and describe their inspirations for their blend of salsa with funk & jazz, electronic beats, reggae-infused cumbia and Miami bass sounds that together form the unique fabric of Miami’s diverse (and ongoing) cultural history.
And as stated in the trailer, “If you wanna be a band in Miami and get paid and do work, you have to make people dance!” No truer words have been spoken.
The first airing of Miami Boheme will be on WPBT2 in South Florida tonight, March 27 at 9 p.m. If you’re in town and want to watch it with fellow fans, Little Havana hotspot, Hoy Como Ayer, will be hosting a viewing party with a performance by one of the film’s stars, the Spam Allstars!