Educational Media Reviews Online

This film is too short at 19 minutes to adequately capture all of the contextual nuances of its subject, the tradition of one Cuban neighborhood’s participation in Carnaval. It serves well as a specialized study of one aspect of Cuban music. In this regard it could be used to enrich a program that provides more background or as a starting point to more fully investigate Cuban culture. The film is in Spanish with English subtitles.

The term “comparsa” is used to describe both an Afro-Cuban style of music and dance as well as the instrumental ensemble that plays the music. The musical style is related to that of the conga. The performing ensemble is not restricted in its instrumentation and each neighborhood’s comparsa is different, with unique traditions of its own.

The comparsa examined in this film is the Comparsa El Alacrán. It is dedicated to the Yoruban goddess of the sea, Yemaya. Comparsa El Alacrán began in 1908 when it was performed by whites in blackface. It was revived by Santos Ramirez in 1937, after the1911-1936 ban on comparsa performances was lifted. The film provides background on the traditions of the parade, including information about the Afro-Cuban culture, details about colors and symbols used by the comparsa, and the music. More details about the music, especially its rhythmic aspects, would have been a welcome addition to the film. The story of how the scorpion was identified is played out as part of the procession and the film shows this part of the procession in full.

Again, the brevity of the film limits its uses and is somewhat frustrating for what is omitted. But, despite its shortcomings, it will very likely remain a unique film about its very specific subject.