Octavio Cortazar’s docu-drama La Ultima Rumba de Papa Montero (The Last Rumba of Papa Montero) uses rumba beats and Afro-Cuban lore to tell the story of one of Cuba’s great rumberos. As with any nation obsessed with dance, Cuba comes alive here with every stomp of the foot. Even in death, Papa Montero is resilient—buried in a local cemetery he’s now become “a dead man who won’t go to heaven.” A documentary filmmaker bemoans the banality of his project during the film’s more uninspired moments. Montero’s fictionalized segments are certainly well acted but their didacticism takes away from the overall heart of the production. This is mainly a celebration of rumba as Cuba’s heart and soul. Papa Montero and another man fight for a woman’s love and is killed during carnival. Buried in a tombless grave, life seemingly goes on yet Monter’s life and the mystery of his death still hangs in the air. The joy of Montero, though, is how Octavio Cortazar brings ordinary events (domino playing, gossip) to life through graceful song and dance. Here, the rumba becomes the cry of a group collective. A devastated Cuba is the mournful yet vivacious setting for a celebration that is seemingly observed by Montero from beyond the grave.
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