Maestro Issa

Enjoy this fascinating documentary with priceless video footage of various Haitian and Cuban music legends performing and explaining the development of Haitian music in the 1950s. It's a lovely documentary on the influences in 1950s Haitian music during la belle epoque. Issa El Saieh's orchestra took in influences from Cuban music, Vodou, jazz, Haitian mereng, and made magic in pre-konpa Haiti. The important links between Haitian and Cuban music get a lot of attention, too, demonstrating what I like to call 'CubAyiti.' We even see Bebo Valdes play piano, Daniel Santos sing, Beny More, Martha Jean-Claude, Celia Cruz, and many other legends.