Scenes From Latcho Drom

March 20, 2008 6:10 AM

First, and foremost, here is La Caíta - El Pájaro Negro. Could there be singing anymore heartfelt than this ? I wonder. And here she is, in an ancillary role, with the Amaya family. Also, from Spain, here is Tchavolo Schmitt, Dorado Schmitt & Hono Winterstein - Kali Sara & Tchavolo swing. From Romania, here are Taraf de Haïdouks and, from them, here is Taraf de Haïdouks and of them, here is Balada Conducatorolui - Nicolae Neacsu. From the Thar of Rajasthan, here is the very charismatic Talab Khan Barna, and here, from Egypt, is Bambi Saidi. And let the etymological connection between Egypt and gypsy be noted here and now, by the way.

All of these are. of course, excerpts from Latcho Drom.

And here, courtesy a cheese eating surrender monkey name of KaliYug, and under the title Gipsies story, is apparently, and, in ten parts, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, Latcho Drom in its entirety.



Talab Khan Barna

Popmatters: Taraf De Haïdouks

Rambles: Latcho Drom

posted by y2karl (7 comments total)

Thanks, y2Karl, nice post.
posted by theora55 at 7:00 AM on March 20

Thanks y2karl. Great post. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed Latcho Drom and the like.
posted by msali at 7:10 AM on March 20

Thanks, Tchavolo Schmitt is great (but he isn't from spain), the scene from the movie is taken from the Saintes Maries de la Mer pilgrimage. That stuff is pure beauty. Thanks a lot. Tony Gatlif has been touring with musicians and dancers for the last couple of years. I've seen the show last summer, and I have to say that the voice of La Caita has been really damaged (to me at least). The show is still worth viewing because the dancers are really amazing. An artist which really deserves wider recognition : Thierry titi Robin, from France, for his commitment to the world of gypsy music.
posted by nicolin at 9:27 AM on March 20 [1 favorite]

...but he isn't from spain

I was guessing--it's been awhile since I have seen the movie. Which is so far unavailable on DVD, or so is my assumption.

I've seen the show last summer, and I have to say that the voice of La Caita has been really damaged (to me at least).

Considering how she sings in the movie, this comes as no surprise. On a sidenote:

The singer La Caita performs in the film at an impromptu fiesta Caco gives at a restaurant in Seville, where her rhythms prove so infectious that even policemen join the party. ''La Caita is not just a flamenco singer,'' said Jacques Maigne, an author and Mr. Gatlif's frequent collaborator, speaking by telephone from Almería, Spain. ''She lives the life -- she is flamenca. She's a complete rebel, a wild woman who disappears for weeks on end from her house in the Gypsy quarter of Badajoz, to where no one can find her. She conducts herself with a kind of absolute liberty. All that comes out in her song. It's something beyond technique, something more internal and stronger.''

Film: Courting Death With the Roma

She's a complete rebel, a wild woman who disappears for weeks on end from her house in the Gypsy quarter of Badajoz--well, she wasn't cast against type in Latcho Drom, then... On a side note, fwiw, it is my understanding that the lyric she sings at the end of Latcho Drom was written by Tony Gatlif.
posted by y2karl at 10:09 AM on March 20

Tony Gatlif has made many films that deal with gypsy culture and dancing and singing. Including the fine opening scene of Vengo. Hiis recent movie Transylvania has some dancing too.
posted by Rashomon at 10:18 AM on March 20

After you've followed up on all karl's wonderful links, dig Rashomon's clips from "Transylvania,"above. These are my people. Sots and sluts we may be, but just about every popular music genre, including African American blues, arises from Gypsy music.
posted by Faze at 5:26 PM on March 20

Wow, this is great. Latcho Drom is one of my all-time favorite documentaries; the way they build the film with no dialogue is amazing. Thanks, everyone, for this awesomeness.
posted by mediareport at 5:50 PM on March 20