The Bottom Line
If you're a fan of reggaeton or simply curious about the musical phenomenon that has swept the Latin music world, this is the film to see. The documentary takes the viewer from the genre's humble beginning in the barrio to the events that made reggaeton the music of choice of today's Latino youth - and tells the story in the words of the people that made it happen.
Pros
- Excellent 70 minute documentary tracing the birth & growth of reggaeton
Cons
- None
Description
- Documentary about reggaeton, from its humble beginnings to current day
- Featuring interviews, film and stills with many of the major reggaeton artists
- Directed by James Chankin, Leigh Savids, S. Leigh Savidge
- Written by Tom Reynolds, produced by James Chankin
- Released August 2008 by Universal
Guide Review - DVD Review: 'Straight Outta Puerto Rico - Reggaeton's Rough Road To Glory'
Today, reggaeton can be heard on the streets of any metropolitan city that boasts a young Latino population. If you’ve ever wondered where this omnipresent urban music came from, Straight Outta Puerto Rico: Reggaeton’s Rough Road to Glory is a documentary that will answer your questions.
Straight Outta Puerto Rico describes the evolution of reggaeton from its beginnings as an underground movement in the poverty-strewn streets of Puerto Rico’s barrios to its eventual global dominance among young Latinos the world over. It describes reggaeton’s growth via narrative and interviews with significant pioneers such as Vico C and Tego Calderon and follows the history through Daddy Yankee, Ivy Queen, Wisin y Yandel and -- the genre’s most successful producers and star makers -- Boston-bred Luny Tunes.
The film clearly outlines the genre’s reggae and Panamanian dancehall roots, discusses how this vital underground movement moved to the mainstream, then outlines the famous court case that was the catalyst for two versions of an album: one with explicit lyrics, the other with ‘clean’ lyrics, as well as the change in lyrics from subject matter that dealt almost exclusively with sex and violence to additional themes of political protest that aligned more closely with so many other types of Latin music.
A film with interviews, photos and video that logically cements an understanding of reggaeton, this is a documentary that fans and the simply curious will find both fascinating and rewarding.