
Seventy-six-year-old Cuban street musician Miguel Del Morales, known as El Gallo (The Rooster), travels around Cuba with his guitar, making music in the homes of friends, in bars, and on street corners, in courtyards and stairwells. His rich voice, colored by a lifetime of cigarettes and rum, weathered by the sun and rain, bespeaks the joys and sufferings of his countrymen. An urban troubadour, Del Morales has been called "a living memory of Cuban bolero.... (Full plot summary below)
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Seventy-six-year-old Cuban street musician Miguel Del Morales, known as El Gallo (The Rooster), travels around Cuba with his guitar, making music in the homes of friends, in bars, and on street corners, in courtyards and stairwells. His rich voice, colored by a lifetime of cigarettes and rum, weathered by the sun and rain, bespeaks the joys and sufferings of his countrymen. An urban troubadour, Del Morales has been called "a living memory of Cuban bolero.
Leave your thoughts about Cuba Feliz.
| Chicago ReaderJ. R. JonesThe film is music from beginning to end, and nearly every note of it is magical. |
| Chicago TribuneJohn PetrakisIt's hard to focus on the travails when the music is so lively and good. |
| TV Guide MagazineKen FoxThe film is virtually wall-to-wall music with very little commentary -- it's obvious that, given the chance, these musicians would much rather play than talk. |
| Film Journal InternationalMaria GarciaFalls short in explaining the music and its roots. |
| The New York TimesStephen HoldenIn painting an unabashedly romantic picture of a nation whose songs spring directly from the lives of the people, the movie exalts the Marxian dream of honest working folk, with little to show for their labor, living harmoniously, joined in song. |
| The A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonThe spontaneity of the music itself is unquestionable and captivating. Like Saudade Do Futuro, Cuba Feliz is somewhat unsatisfying, leaving too many questions unanswered in its stream-of-consciousness wanderings. But it also preserves ephemeral art that might otherwise be lost. |
| New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanEvery trip requires patience, and this one brings plenty of rewards, in the ecstatic sounds of a country most of us haven't been able to visit firsthand. |
| Boston GlobeJonathan PerryGrittily beautiful film that looks, sounds, and feels more like an extended, open-ended poem than a traditionally structured story. |
| New York PostLou LumenickWhile the performances are often engaging, this loose collection of largely improvised numbers would probably have worked better as a one-hour TV documentary. |
| Village VoiceRichard GehrFrustratingly, Dridi tells us nothing about El Gallo other than what emerges through his music. |