ABOUT THIS ITEM

Strut Records, in association with Fania, are proud to announce the '40th Anniversary Edition' of the landmark feature film that captured New York’s legendary early 70s Latin music scene at its zenith, ‘Our Latin Thing (Nuestra Cosa)’.

Filmed around a live all-star concert by the Fania All-Stars at one of promoter Ralph Mercado’s fantastically popular Thursday night jams at the Cheetah, the film transports the viewer right back to a heady night on August 26, 1971. The result is pure dynamite. The salsa of the early 70s had it all - Africa, the Caribbean, the Spanish language, the technical skills of jazz, the kinetic push and pull of great dance music, brilliant improvisations by both singers and drummers, and, most importantly, a community right behind it - mostly, but not entirely, Puerto Rican.

The stars of the movie were already international celebrities at the time of the concert, and they subsequently became even more famous. "Our Latin Thing" captures them at the height of their powers. We see Johnny Pacheco, Fania boss and ringleader, conga master Ray Barretto, Ismael Miranda, Larry Harlow, vocal legends Hector Lavoe and Cheo Feliciano. And we experience them up-close and raw, flashing back and forth from the club to the streets, venturing out into the barrio. It is simply one of the greatest visions of New York City ever put to film, offering a panoramic look at a part of town beyond the bright lights of Manhattan. The cameras visit a rumba in a vacant lot, a singing front-stoop cajonero (box drummer), a domino game, a santería ceremony, and a free show in the street by Larry Harlow with Ismael Miranda.

The technical quality of the film is excellent. Director Leon Gast (‘When We Were Kings’) hung 278 colour-gelled lights in the club and brought in his own electricity. The music was shot live, in colour, with five separate cameras, providing a rare multiple perspective for the era. In all, the film contains 1,985 edits – a modern editing tempo, years ahead of its time. With a remote truck parked outside the club, the music was recorded live to 16-track, two-inch tape, the highest-quality analog format available at the time.

Disc 01:
Our Latin Thing (Nuestra Cosa) – DVD
Disc 02: (Fania All Stars: Live At The Cheetah Vol. 1 – CD)
01. Introduction Theme (Cheetah)
02. Descarga Fania
03. Anacaona (Cheetah)
04. Quitate Tu
Disc 03: (Fania All Stars: Live At The Cheetah Vol. 2 – CD)
01. Ahora Venga Yo
02. Estrellas De Fania
03. Que Barbaridad
04. Ponte Duro
05. Macho Cimarron
06. Closing Theme
07. Cocinando (bonus Track)
08. Abran Paso Part 1 (Bonus Track)
09. Abran Paso Part 2 (Bonus Track)

LP: (Fania All Stars: Live At The Cheetah)
A1. Descarga Fania 9.12
A2. Anacaona (Cheetah) 7.13
B1. Quitate Tu 16.45
C1. Que Barbaridad 5.58
C2. Macho Cimarron 11.40
D1. Ahora Venga Yo 7.33
D2. Cocinando (Bonus Track) 10.09