Cruz, Celia

Salsa - The Motion Picture

Robby Rosa former lead singer of the super group Menudo stars in this sexy story of young dreams dangerous passions and dance-floor fireworks! With special performances by Salsa legends Celia Cruz and Tito Puente this high-energy musical sizzles with breathtaking choreography and all the spice of red-hot salsa! In a nightly escape from his day job as a mechanic Rico (Rosa) enters his true element: the wild exuberance of the East L.A. La Luna salsa club. Dreaming of making himself and his girlfriend the King and Queen of Salsa Rico pours all his energy into winning La Luna s Grand Salsa Competition. But when the club s gorgeous owner sets her sights on making Rico her dance partner Rico must decide what drives him his ambition or his heart.System Requirements:Running Time: 99 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG UPC: 027616884619 Manufacturer No: 1004382

Sesame Street - Fiesta!

Fiesta means party in Spanish, and Sesame Street is pulsating with activity in this upbeat preschool program featuring Latino songs. Jim Henson's Muppets join the fun while everyone's favorite, Elmo, learns the Conga- Wiggle dance. Maria, Rosita, and Gabi create floats and costumes; even Oscar reluctantly partakes in the festivities. The dialogue is sparse in order to devote most of the 30-minute show to singing and dancing during eight Spanish/English tunes, featuring special performances by Linda Ronstadt and Celia Cruz. Most of the music will be familiar, such as "Conga Counting Song," "Amigo," and "It Sure Is Hot." Kids will also learn greetings, familiar words, and numbers in Spanish. While some might wish for the addition of live-action scenes of Mexico or a more complex story line, the bilingual focus is solid and the ever supportive cast of Sesame Street grownups, kids, and Muppets make it a neighborhood worth visiting. --Lynn Gibson

The Mambo Kings

This period drama is hot, hot, hot. Stylish and sexy, it is adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, by Oscar Hijuelos, the story of two brothers who flee from Cuba in the early 1950s, heading for New York. Hoping to make a name for themselves as famous musicians, the duo face hardships and painful discoveries along the way. Armand Assante is the older of the two, with a smoldering Antonio Banderas as his younger, more impetuous brother. (In his first English-speaking role, Banderas delivered all of his lines phonetically.) The pulsating, sweaty energy of the first half of the film is not sustained throughout. Partly this is because a movie about the rise and fall of minor celebrities has been done to death. Even when the action slows down, however, the story does not bore. There is too much sensuality and vitality exuded by both Assante and Banderas. --Rochelle O'Gorman

In the 1950s, two Cuban brothers come to America to seek fame and fortune as musicians.

The Perez Family

Marisa Tomei releases her inner spitfire in The Perez Family. Dottie Perez (Tomei) comes to the U.S. from Cuba, along with a mixed lot of criminals, lunatics, and political prisoners--including Juan Perez (Alfred Molina), who hopes to be reunited with his wife after 20 years. To work around the bureaucratic politics of the refugee camps, Dottie persuades Juan to pretend that they're married, and drafts a few other Perezes to create a family. Meanwhile, Juan's wife Carmella believes that Juan never arrived and is finally letting go of his memory, helped by the attentions of a Miami police detective (Chazz Palmintieri). Tomei's sexy passion sometimes spills over into silliness and the story unfolds erratically, but the examination of how love grows and how love fades is sincere and affecting. The actors are charismatic, the music's fantastic, and Tomei wears many skimpy outfits. Directed by Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding). --Bret Fetzer

Love blossoms in the most unexpected of places in this sparkling sexy romantic comedy about freedom friendship and the true meaning of family. Starring Marisa Tomei Alfred Molina Chazz Palminteri and Anjelica Huston The Perez Family is a buoyant colorful [and] optimistic celebration of the immigrant experience (The Washington Post) in America in the early 1980s. Free-spirited Dottie Perez (Tomei) is leaving Cuba for America her head filled with dreams of movies mascara and dates with John Wayne. Straight-laced Juan Perez (Molina) is headed for a reunion with the wife (Huston) and daughter (Trini Alvarado) he hasn t seen in 20 years. But when an overworked immigration official mistakes Dottie and Juan for husband and wife the stage is set for a marital mix-up and some very unpredictable romances!System Requirements:Running Time: 113 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 027616884497 Manufacturer No: 1004369

Roots of Rhythm

Latin music has always been a fixture in American popular culture, but its history reflects centuries of change and complexity from diverse sources. Roots of Rhythm, an incredible three-hour film originally shown on PBS in 1997, traces the development of this exciting musical genre, going back 500 years across three continents. Hosted by the famed Caribbean American entertainer Harry Belafonte, the film begins in West Africa, in the villages that ring with the ancestral anthems of sacred Yoruba beats and bata drums. The focus shifts to Spain, where modern-day troubadours sing their haunting, Moorish-tinged ballads and Gypsi