Daddy Yankee (second from r.) in "Talento de Barrio."
“It feels incredible to be the producer and star of a movie having great success in Puerto Rico,” Yankee says about “Talento de Barrio,” which broke box office records on the island for a hometown film when it opened last month.
The film, opening here Oct.3, stars Yankee as Edgar Dinero, a young man who falls in love with a girl from his barrio just as he is becoming involved in the street life.
“Nobody has made a movie like this,” Yankee says over the phone from Puerto Rico, where he lives.
“We’re showing what we go through in the barrio, the real essence of barrios in Puerto Rico. Edgar is stuck in the streets and dealing drugs with his crew.”
Yankee, who developed a permanent limp after falling victim to a bullet from an AK-47 in his youth, has some things in common with his character, but says the film is not based on his life.
“It’s not my biography,” he says, though he admits his upbringing helped him play the role.
“I grew up around a lot of people like my character in the ’hood, and that’s the reason it was easy for me to identify with him.”
Some critics have said “Talento de Barrio” is too violent, but Yankee contends there’s more to the film than the street life.
“There is violence and all that in the movie, but it’s about other things, about a mom who protects her son and about the idea of a man being un hombre de su palabra — a man of his word,” he explains.
And he says he believes a big part of the movie’s success springs from the message it sends.
“At the end of the movie, we offer a powerful message,” he says. “I’ve been getting calls from mothers and fathers telling me, ‘Yo, my son was going through the same situation and saw your movie and you made him think.’”
In recent weeks, the movie’s box office success has been matched by that of the film’s original soundtrack, released on Aug. 12, which has topped Billboard’s Top Latin Album charts and is at No. 3 this week.
“This is the first time that a Latino comes out with a movie and a soundtrack with original songs,” Yankee boasts.
The 14 songs on the soundtrack range from familiar genres like Spanish hip hop and classic reggaetón to salsa, bachata and R&B.
The single “Pose” mixes hip hop and dance with Latin and African-American rhythms.
Yankee is hoping the movie’s success on the island will carry over to the U.S., even if it’s “hard for some people” because it’s in Spanish with subtitles.
“But if you’re from the ’hood or the ghetto,” he says, “you’ll identify with the movie because all of the barrios in the world have the same scenario.”
Här kommer en Trailer:
Inga kommentarer:
Skicka en kommentar