The musical film King of Mambo: The Story of Perez Prado not only highlights the achievements of one of the genre’s most acclaimed musicians, but also the musical style itself and how it developed over a number of years in the mid-20th century.
Perez Prado is often overlooked in favor of musicians such as Tito Puente and Xavier Cugat. However, Perez was an innovator, and the first to introduce the dance style in 1943. He used public appearances on radio, television, and cinema to spread the new craze like wildfire. The film uses archival footage to great effect, documenting Prado’s ascent as well as the genre’s. We’re taken all over the world to England, Mexico, Japan, Cuba, and parts of Europe and South America to see Prado’s influence spread.
We then see Prado hit number one on the American charts in 1955, but his stock then plummets stateside with the advent of rock-n-roll, the Beats, and other musical dance styles. Still, Prado maintained a healthy career in South America. The film does well not to focus on his decline, but rather on the massive impact he had on the musical world. King of Mambo: The Story of Perez Prado is a must for any Latin American studies student or fan of music in academic and public library collections. The academic DVD is available from Planet Group Entertainment.