Cuban producer Alejandro Perez will shoot his popular video clip “Bailando” for the third time so that Jamaican singer Sean Paul can join it. However, there is no need to worry because the cast of the second version will remain the same: Enrique Iglesias, from Spain; Descemer Bueno and Gente de Zona, from Cuba.
This production will be premiered this week in Los Angeles, in the United States. Its director already travelled there to make the final arrangements for the next shooting, which will be in English in an attempt tobringing the video closer to the Anglo Saxon audience.
Alejandro is very famous in Cuba right now, though no one recognizes him on the street. His profession keeps him behind the camera, wearing wide pants and a cap, always comfortable. It is difficult to find such a common name in Google, but precision arrives by the hand of awards and praisesjust by thinking about the photography in films such as Viva Cuba, Habanastation and Conducta, the latest Cuban films. He is distinguished by quality and a heart that takes him far away not letting fame get up his head, as we would say in Cuba.
Some days before departing for the US, Perez received a call from an old friend, Viengsay Valdes, first dancer of the Cuban National Ballet (BNC by its acronym in Spanish), to invite him to direct an audiovisual that will pay homage to prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso. After watching choreography by Tania Vergara with music wrote expressly for Alonso by pianist Frank Fernández, the producer agreed to join the team and made his first command as director: let’s invite Alicia to the shooting.
At the age of 93, Alonso maintains a great sense of discipline and a love for dance that prevent her from standing still. Viengsay explained the Project to her teacher while Frank moved his rehearsing schedule and concerts and Alejandro summoned some of his friends willing to work for love, without budget, and examined cameras, cranes and a dolly. No one imagined would call them so fast! A few hours before flying to the US, Perez arrived at the blue hall at the BNC, Alicia’s favorite, with the heavy gear necessary for capturing images in a video.
A tuner tried to improve the sound of the old piano so that Frank could play and Viengsay rehearsed lines with a learned worrying outfit. “Are you going to dance with that?”, the director asked. “No Ale, this is just for warming up”, said the dancer. “Ah!”, they both laughed. “I didn’t want to do iton a theater, it seemed better fitted the hall where Alicia danced a lot, and Viengsay learned and now brings this gift to this very particular teacher. I will try to record that fact between two great dance figures”, noted Perez a few moments earlier before calling: Action! “I wanted to shoot them in the place where they both grew professionally, because it gives them intimacy, without spectators, accompanied only by the pianist.
In my opinion, this piece is also about a legacy”, he explained. Perez’ professionalism helps him move from one set to the other with serenity. One day he shoots a video clip with a reggaeton band, and next day he shoots a traditional trova video clip. For the television he has produced several teleplays such as “Yarini” (2001) and “Santa Camila de La Habana Vieja” (2002), and he has filmed documentaries that move from Raul Martinez’ plastic arts (1994) to the Van Van fever (2006), among many other cultural and historical topics. Recently, Alejandro was in charge of directing photography in the films “Conducta”, by Ernesto Daranas, and “Boccacerías mías”, by Arturo Sotto. At present, he is preparing his first full length film as producer, with a script written between Daranas and him, a romantic comedy, still on its first stages. Nonetheless, around these days he only has time for “Bailando”.
“Enrique was very pleased”, he says as if it were the greatest prize ever. After that, he will start editing “ParAlicia” in order to move on in his broad career in the arts.
Author
Martha Sánchez
El Video de Bailando esta super espectacular You did an excellent job editing and I love that the English is a little different than the spanish Bailando Video… Great job.. Great SONG!!
What is the name of the female lead of the song
what is the name of the afro hair style dancer in the video??
name of that female dancer in thiss vedio
Who is the featured afro hair style dancer in the yellow shirt?
What are the names of the afro hair style dancers?