The soundtrack that made a city finally dance with its own shadow.
When the film West Side Story was released in 1961, New York's reviled Puerto Rican community gained some visibility and, over time, both in Spanish Harlem and the Bronx, neighborhoods plagued by poverty, drugs and crime, Hispanic identity was reborn and strengthened, thanks to a syncretic and intentionally popular music that eventually conquered the entire city.
Direction
Mondelo lets elders speak, refuses to over-narrate their testimony.
Editing
Seamless weave of decaying 70s footage with present-day triumph.
Sound
Every clave hit mixed like it's the protagonist.
Director
Sergio G. Mondelo
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Tito Puente Jr. appears but never performs his father's hits—Mondelo reportedly banned them to avoid tribute clichés.
The 52-minute runtime mirrors exactly one side of a vinyl LP; Mondelo wanted it to feel like an album experience, not a PBS special.
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