Synopsis
The rise and fall of salsa singer, Héctor Lavoe (1946-1993), as told from the perspective of his wife Puchi, who looks back from 2002.
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Cast
- Marc AnthonyHector Lavoe
- Jennifer LopezPuchi
- John OrtizWillie Colon
- Manny PérezEddie
- Vincent LarescaRalph
- Federico CastelluccioJerry Masucci
- Nelson VasquezJohnny Pacheco
- Antone PagánPapo
- Romi DiasPriscilla
- Andrea NavedoZaida
Recommendations
- 75
Christian Science Monitor
Anthony doesn't have a large emotional range as an actor, and neither does Lopez. Still, the musical numbers, which constitute a hefty portion of screen time, are thrilling. - 75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
A special film, one that refuses to package a person's life into a comfortably familiar genre. - 70
Washington Post
A star isn't born in El Cantante as much as it's reconfirmed. She's still here, and she's still got it. - 50
The Hollywood Reporter
Unfortunately, the music is as irresistible as the tired story of a musician succumbing to substance abuse is resistible. - 50
Entertainment Weekly
Anthony, with his famished thousand-yard stare, turns in a delicate -- perhaps too delicate -- performance more informed by the shadow of Lavoe's death than the spark of his art. And his shrill domestic scenes with Lopez feel small and squalid, as we wait restlessly for the band to play us out. - 50
Chicago Tribune
Turns out to be nothing special. Well, the music is. The storytelling is not. - 50
The A.V. Club
Anthony delivers a respectable performance, but his character never comes into sharp focus. Consequently, Lavoe emerges as a supporting character in his own story. - 40
Variety
A virtual template of every imaginable cliche of the musical biopic, picture suffers from a lack of narrative and character focus
