I am a massive Lavoe fan. Ever since I heard the Cosa Nuestra album with Willie. From then I made it a point to look for every bit of music he ever did. So for me this was my most anticipated movie of the year.

The good news about this film is that Jennifer and Marc do a great job of acting. Marc in particular is quite brilliant as Hector. Even his singing is decent (but of course he can't touch Hector). The cinematography is good too. Love the visuals, they've given the movie a 70's look to it which I really dug, made it more authentic. Also, every time there is a stage and the band is playing is amazing. Also, the other casting is superb - Willie Colon, Ralph Mercado, Jerry Massucci were all perfectly cast.

Bad news... it is historically inaccurate, the music is all over the place, you would think it would follow some sort of chronology. There is too much Pucchi, I know the story is told through Pucchi's eyes but it takes away from the Hector story and it means that there is too much Jennifer in it. There are parts where you see Anthony performing a killer Hector track with the band and the focus should be just Hector but the director just has to show Lopez... it doesn't work and it's overkill.

But, I think the biggest problem will be a problem mainly for non salsa listening people (and that includes latinos). I've been reading a lot of reviews by non-latinos and they just don't get why Hector was big. They don't get it because they didn't grow up with salsa and they have no history behind it. The movie is very matter-of-fact that Hector is a legend and for someone who doesn't listen to 70's salsa or wasn't brought up with it they aren't going to understand that. In salsafied countries like Colombia, Peru, Puerto Rico, Panama, etc it won't matter because Hector is a legend. But in Australia, Britain, Europe, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, China, and non-Latin US (basically any country without a history of listening to salsa) forget it. It will matter big! So I have to agree, that's what Ray did really well... explain why Ray was big and that's why it translated even in non-English countries.

Also, I think the opportunity was missed to go into a bigger story of the salsa revolution in the 70's. This music sold millions and it sold all over Latin America and even West Africa where countries were known to be fanatical about (even though they didn't understand Spanish!). To this day it's legacy is still felt, if you go to Callao in Peru, Hector's image has been painted on walls there, go to Cali in Colombia and the people worship him, etc.

I also have to agree there was way too much on the drugs, and Hector's legacy, fame, and legend were not because he took drugs, it was because the music, lyrics and his persona touched people. He was tortured but he must have been happy at times too.

My wife and I are both Hector fans (though i am the fanatic) and we both enjoyed the movie, we will actually buy the DVD when it comes out. It could've been better though.

I knew very little about Hector Lavoe or his music before seeing this film and I must admit that apart from knowing a few of his songs, I still can't say that I know the man or why he was the way he was. The film almost glorified his tragic lifestyle and choices but gave us no real insight into what motivated the man.

I take the film 'Ray' as an example. We go deep into Ray's childhood to understand why he does what he does, positive and negative, and why he thinks and feels the way he does. We never see Hector as a child, I don't know what happened to his mother and never get a sense of the relationship between him and his father.

Honestly, and sadly, this film doesn't make me see Hector Lavoe the man or the even Hector Lavoe, the musical genius. From the first sequence, this film was about a drug addict who also sang who was named Hector Lavoe.

I think he deserved more than that.

With that said, the music is very well done and there were flashes of brilliance but there was too much quick cutting and jumping away from dramatic moments. It's fine if you wanted the music sequences to be fast paced but even dramatic moments were rushed along and stylized to the point of taking me out of the film.

Good film but poorly directed and not a classic which, like I said, Hector deserved better. He deserved the full 'Ray' treatment of this being a shining testament to his genius and not a movie about Puchi's husband.

Outstanding performance of Jennifer Lopez. I didn't know this side of her,as an actress with so much potential. Maybe she had to play this part to prove it.

And Marc's wasn't bad at all! He himself could be "El Cantante" for the soft and powerful voice he has.

The movie seemed to be somewhere between a musical and a drama. Jennifer made Puchi - Hector's wife so real,that she seemed to be the key of Hector's life (and I knew nothing about this salsa singer up until I saw this movie!). And Hector was the door that Puchi managed to open from time to time. I saw a great bond between those two and it came out a very good movie, worth seeing, especially if you love salsa music.

And even if you don't, you'll start loving it!

Quite true to the actual events of Hector Lavoe's life, the acting and direction of El Cantante are top notch. Jennifer Lopez probably gives the finest performance of her career, while Mark Anthony without a doubt deserves an Oscar for his star role. I saw this film on Sept. 12/2006 at the Toronto International Film Festival and Jennifer and Mark's presence overshadowed the film itself. However as a stand alone film, it is excellent and my only criticism would be the editing, the cinematography and some of the subtitles which were quite different from what the actors were actually saying. The cinematography seemed quite Schizophrenic at times, while the editing was occasionally shaky. Leon Ichaso has done an excellent job as usual in the direction of El Cantante and while this may be a somewhat low budget film, it is a high caliber production. The music, locales and wardrobe are outstanding as well. While some may dismiss this as a husband and wife chance to work together, given a chance, El Cantante is an excellent film quite able to fight for its chance at a Golden Globe and an Oscar.

First of all, this film is not as bad as people are saying it is. Jennifer Lopez is good and Mark Anthony is great. The music alone is worth your money. That, however, is where the praise must end.

Unfortunately, the script seems sloppy. There's no structure to the story, and the film fails for it. Moments that should be important seem to occur too quickly to feel because the screenwriter(s) seems to lack a sense of pace.

This could have been helped by a good director. Unfortunately, again, the director was one of the screenwriters, which of course didn't bode well for his sense of pacing. The film is jarringly disconnected and the characters, even Lavoe himself, are far less developed than they should be.

Had a film like "Ray" never been released, "El Cantante" would have met every expectation of the public. Unfortunately for the filmmakers of "El Cantante", "Ray" provided a structured script that developed the lead as well as the supporters. "El Cantante" seems to half-develop Puchi and Lavoe, and give really no more than minimal screen time to any supporting cast.

Which leads to probably the biggest problem of all. This film is told through the eyes of Puchi, Hector's wife. While this should provide an insight to who Hector was as a person, it's a very slanted account and the average moviegoer can tell that important things have been left out. This isn't like "Ray", where Ray Charles himself was giving the story and therefore could tell things how they were. Puchi (and subsequently the film) only seems to mention the other women in Hector's life in passing, focuses very little on the tours that Hector undoubtedly went on without her, and really doesn't let us into the world of the entertainment business in the 60's and 70's. Some of this, I'm sure, is because Puchi just didn't know about these things. Some of it too, I suspect, is because she didn't want it in the movie.

This problem would have been rectified if the film was about Puchi with Hector as a supporting character, and if consequently Puchi had been developed to her fullest capabilities. That did not happen.

One has to wonder if some of the reason for the lack of character development and pacing is because they caught wind of the other Lavoe film "The Singer" and tried to rush to beat it to the theaters.

In the end, this film is worth the watch. Is it a classic? No. Is it a good time? Absolutely. There may be another, better Lavoe movie released in our lifetimes. Right now, this film is worth it.

The Script gets a "D". The Director gets a "B", if for no other reason than amazing musical scenes. The Actors get an "A".

Therefore, I give the film a solid B+.

I must admit that I had my doubts about this film, but after I watched it I wanted to watch it again. The movie is about the life of Hector Lavoe (Mark Antony) from the point of view of his wife Puchi (Jennifer Lopez). I shows his personal life in those areas that affected her the most. While some people don't think much of the way the movie is presented I think is very realistic and well acted. For those of us who remember when Hector Lavoe was the main voice of the Salsa music this movie brings back lots of memories. As far as the acting go Jennifer actually becomes Puchi and Mark does very well as Hector. I give it an A-

Sure, this movie is not perfect. But the fact that it is a snap shot of the glorious high point of SALSA, makes it something special. The story is sad and clichéd, but the excitement of seeing Mark Anthony on the screen is real. Jennifer adds pathos, and really does quite well as the framer of the plot. But the movie wouldn't have been made with Mark Anthony as the center of the film. Then it would have been a concert movie, not a dramatic work. He is a stunning and unbelievable musical talent, and the form of the film is a classic one, where a great singer gets to make a movie. If you compare it to all the other films where this was done (think Elvis), this film far surpasses all of them. But the whole point of the movie is Mr. Anthony's dream,,,to show how a wonderful moment in musical history unfolded and sadly came to an end. This is a story beyond the life of Hector, and one that is classic in illustrating the rise and fall of popular music and culture. The great artists in our pop culture only have a short life before they are destroyed by a society and media that eats its young. If you love music, Latin culture, and reliving the 70's and 80's, this is a movie you will not soon forget. Viva!

Jennifer Lopez can act, Gigli notwithstanding. In El Cantante she narrates the life of 70's Salsa songster Hector Lavoe (Marc Anthony) with some sparks of creative energy. After all, as Puchi, she smoke, drank, and took drugs with him on his way to stardom, inevitable obscurity, and early death. Enabler? Maybe. Witness the Ray Charles, Kurt Cobain arc and you'll know how Hector's life sank so low (no homonym pun intended).

El Cantante is a disappointment because the celebrity couple Lopez and Anthony could have had Oscar flyovers with better script and direction. Many of the scenes are stock musical biopic: low-angle shots of the star strumming and singing, cut to drugs, cut to wife, back to another performance moment, cut to a Fania album cover, all with MTV swift editing and few scenes of depth that are not clichés of the first order.

Clint Eastwood's life of Charlie Bird Parker is a classic of character development; the recent La Vein Rose about chanteuse Edith Piaf depicts the artist sufferer in a mixed bag of time but a straightforward rendition of talent. Cantante shows a druggie who might have been an icon but for his weaknesses. If I have to sit through drug and alcohol addled performers once more, I need better story, regardless of how accurate the film is.

I don't want a documentary—I want an interpretation. Cantante is just a musical like any other, no more.

I had a chance to see it even though its not yet on theaters but is such a great movie. The story is basically about Hector Lavoe(Marc Anthony) a very famous salsa singer which died of AIDS and Puchi(Jennifer Lopez)tells the story in this film from the moment he became famous to his death.This film was well done,the acting was incredible with great music. This is probably the best movie so far from Jennifer Lopez since Selena and Out of Sight, she was fantastic.Jennifer L. and Marc A. work great together on the big screen which means this is not another "Gigli" movie. I will go again to see it when I comes out on August 3rd. I really do recommend this movie to everyone.

First, I have been an Hector Lavoe fan since early 70's and as a puertorican I agree with a lot of our artists that this movie is simply awful. The acting is subpar, the editing worse and the story was a bit biased. We all thought that this production was going to do justice to the life and achievements of Lavoe. Instead it is an embarrassing account of the negative aspect of Hector's life. Yes he did drugs, yes he had many trying times, but he also left a musical legacy that many of today's Salsa singers (Marc Anthony included) can't and never will achieve. This was a chance to celebrate the artist and his contributions along with Willie Colon to our popular music. Instead we have all the dark aspects that clouded his life and show old Salsa artists to be a bunch of "junkies" and bums. Also, you can clearly notice that this is a "Jennifer Lopez production" since a lot of the "actors" in the movie are blood relatives of J-Lo. This is a low blow for these artists and I can believe Jenny to ride Marc's fame as much as she can since she can't sell a movie by herself, much less a singing career. I was very disappointed in Marc and as a puertorican I can say that ever since he got together with J-Lo he has lost a lot of ground with us puertoricans and this travesty of a movie clearly shows it. You really need to know the real story here if you want to comment on this "movie". All I saw was J-Lo's face and big "rump" more times than the actual main character of the movie. I counted about forty-something appearances from Marc and over 200 by J-Lo. Way to go girl, keep riding the bronco until it drops.

I just came back from a special screening in LA of El Cantante. Let me put this out there: This film is Jennifer's best film yet. Let me start out with some criticism. In the first few minutes of the movie, I thought this film should have been called "Drugs" or that the tag line should have been "Sex, Drugs, Salsa." But this movie is more than that. I had read that some people thought that this movie showed too much of Hector and Puchi's drug life than the music that Hector brought to the world. But the way I see it, this film shows that there are people like Hector and Puchi who take everything life has to offer them in superstar proportions. Now, I've seen Jennifer do drugs in at least three films, but in this one, there is nothing holding back. Nothing is diluted to make it more acceptable to audiences. It's dirty. She sniffs coke from Hector's shirt, while he does massive amounts heroine, and yet you watch it, and it's done in a manner where it shows you how normal it is to them. They lead the party lifestyle, and Jennifer and Marc portrayed it magnificently. The script is amazing, quite heartbreaking actually. The movie's emotion range goes from big, party, salsa music, to the consequences of drugs, sex, and violence. While Jennifer plays the more tough character, Marc shows how great he is of an actor by showing a character who's life is so controlled by drugs and the temper that he loses half of the movie. The music is pure gold. No Toma De Mi, Jennifer's song on the soundtrack, and while I was disappointed, I realized that Jennifer allowed the movie to be about Hector's music. Marc is fantastic. Period. I hope this film gets the credit that it deserves, because even though it's not extremely historically accurate, it was genius to use Puchi's point of view as the movie's vehicle. No holding back here. Jennifer's words are cuss words half the time, and yet she delivers them with such power and they're real. Same with Marc. I would gives these two both nominations in lead acting, because they step out of their zone and show the world the most glamorous, yet emotionally drained characters. The movie's cinematography is top notch, even for an independent film, and the music will keep you moving even when you leave the theater. 10/10. Hard to believe, but it's an amazing piece of art.

The movie was great from start to finish. It was better than Ray and Walk the Line. The movie rocked. Ignore the critics, they're just jealous of the Hispanics because we do it better. The movie starts in as Puchi drags Hector out of a crack house to a sold out concert at Madison Sq. Garden. The movie consists of Hector's drug problem and his love filled but difficult relationship with Puchi. The musical numbers are great beautifully shot and edited. This movie deserves a nod at the golden globes or the Oscars. Marc is brilliant as Hector Lavoe. Jenniger plays the role of her life as the tough Puchi that loves the glamorous life.

I just saw this movie last night and, although some critics here in Puerto Rico have put it down as not accurate, this picture was amazing, especially the acting by Jeniffer and Marc. It was hard for me not to become emotional (Hector has been one of my favorite salsa singers ever) because I was one of those few fans at his last concert when they cut him off, but the powerful portrayal by Marc Anthony made it so real for me. And to Jennifer I just have to say, you were wonderful, better yet, superb; you worked hard for this and it shows. If you are a true die hard Salsa fan, you must see this movie. The rise and fall of a true salsa singer, whose inspiration came at the moment, not previously rehearsed like a lot of today's salsa singers, is something worth watching and when portrayed with such powerful performances as those of Jenny and Marc, is a must see. This movie might not get the audiences it deserves but, trust me, this is a diamond in the rough and a wonderful and entertaining movie. Great job Nuyorican Productions! And to you old school Salsa fans, see it! You deserve this movie for yourselves!

I came out of watching this film revolted to my stomach. We all know that Héctor Lavoe wasn't a saint, and his life was indeed a tragedy from when he became famous on... but the overwhelming feeling you get from all real-life sources of information and trivia that have described his life in the past is that, contrary to the despotic, abusive brute portrayed in the film, Héctor's character was way more generous, more people-friendly (I'll talk about this in a minute), pained, multidimensional than what we're fed with through Marc Anthony's interpretation. That role, Marc plays quite well, so let's not diminish his and Jennifer Lopez's acting talents on what is a flawed script to begin with (heavily biased in favor of Puchy Rosario's viewpoint of things). But this is not a movie about Héctor's life, this is, somehow, a caricature of a Tony Montana of sorts turned salsa singer.

This movie says "personal vanity project" all over it, and is more a vehicle for pushing J-Lo's talent to people's faces (more so than Marc Anthony's, even!) than a serious recreation of the man and his music. Another big blunder is the portrayal of Willie Colón, which is inaccurate to the hilt. The gossip fodder has been put underneath a microscope; in the past, Willie has been blunt and frank about his own life's mistakes, but was a far more serious, genius-like, professional influence over these facts than was portrayed of him. His is a blur here.

I do share the feeling that the movie comes across as a big movie video. Marc's pipes are undeniably good, even if his on-stage portrayal of Héctor is a bit stiff. J-Lo's sex appeal and talent oozes through, of course, but this movie isn't named "La Esposa del Cantante" for nothing. We have no notion of what drove Héctor to New York to begin with, how big the Willie Colón years really were... we're not even truly aware on how much Héctor was manipulated by those who do manipulated him in real life. And, since most real-life sources have stated that their contribution to the film was squelched to begin with, this comes across as a flashy, lopsided, expensive mess of a biopic.

Too bad the non-Latinos will only have this movie as a reference of Héctor's impact over Latin American culture and salsa proper. As it has turned out, the hardcore fans who have seen it hate the movie... and so do I, who happen not to be one.

There's an apocryphal story about Lavoe actually meeting Marc Anthony shortly before his death. At the time, Marc looked like a rocker, sort of a Latino Axl Rose. Héctor, who spared no one in the teasing department, said: "¡Qué nena fea!" (What an ugly girl!) when they met. Marc, as big a chip on his shoulder as he has proved himself to have, probably never forgave him...

Saw this in Toronto and all I can say is it's a 2 Hour Music Video. Not even a good one. Wish I could call it a musical but can't even do that. One word "Gigli" w/ music of course. The production is amateurish. I really don't know what they were thinking when they shot this. To make things worst it was like it was edited by a kid in a high-school AV club. I don't know but I think the post production crew must have forgot something. Like you need talent to put together a motion picture. This will probable make money because of Lopez and people will watch anything it seems. My advise is to re-edit it before the release but maybe try a new editor. Either that or straight to video. Maybe make it an MTV overnight special.

Do you like music? Do you like the sound of the conga and the timbale? Go see this film. I don't know if it accurately portrayed Hector and his wife as they were, but I do know the music rocked! Can it be true that this music is rooted in the Puerto Rican experience in America? An amalgamation of styles – the sounds of America? Is America the sounding board for the music that makes the world dance? I was dancing in the isles while the movie was playing – the sound was fantastic (props to the sound engineers) and Marc Anthony rocked the house. Yes, the story was everything you'd expect from a life in the fast lane, but the music rose above it, as it should, and framed the story with it's sublime poetry. I left dancing, happy to have seen this musical slice of life in New York, U.S.A. Keep on dancing! There is also fun in the U.S. of A!

Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez were excellent in "El Cantate". They deserve lots of recognition (Oscar or Golden Globe would not be so bad either). I saw this movie the first night it was released, and it was sold-out due to the limited theater it opened up to. I had to buy tickets for another movie and sneak into that one. This film had a great soundtrack, good acting, and very interesting story about Hector Lavoe, which many new music fans will enjoy. The audience laughed, sang aloud, and cried. I just wish it was opened in more theaters to be in the Top 3 for the weekend. So now I owe Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez $20 next time I see them. =)

I couldn't wait to see this movie, however, it was a little disappointing because of the jumpy and sloppy editing. Marc Anthony was great as Hector Lavoe, and Jennifer Lopez was equally as good as Puchi. I went to almost all the venues that Hector played in, including the Palladium, which was the place to go. I saw them all, from Tito Rodriguez, Pacheco, Kako and Tito Puente, etc. However, Hector had this easy style of singing and held you until he was finished. One point I would like to make, Marc Anthony at the present time is the king of Salsa. He can fill a stadium like no other. Hector Lavoe unfortunately was too involved in drugs from the onset...this was part of the musician's scene at the time. Drugs were prevalent, and he made it a part of his life. Anyone who was raised in New York, the City and the Bronx understands that the drugs consumed most musicians. Hector could have been the biggest personality ever, but he blew that gig, sorry to say. I liked the movie, but was not crazy about it. As another writer noted, the character could have been developed a bit more then it was. It was worth the price of admission just to hear all the great music.

EL CANTANTE missed in the theater run, perhaps because the public is growing weary of 'little person makes good, becomes a celebrity, and aborts a successful life in favor of drugs' stories. But now that the film is available for DVD viewing in the home, the public can appreciate the very fine qualities of this surprise work. And it may not be too late for an Oscar nod for Jennifer Lopez...

The film is based on the life of Hector Lavoe (Marc Anthony), the Puerto Rican King of Salsa who gained fame and stardom in the 1970s and 1980s as not only a talented singer but also as a charismatic 'man of the people'. His rise to fame is related in a tremendously effective black and white late in life interview with Hector's wife Puchi (a brilliant role for Jennifer Lopez!) offering in flashback sequences the rise and fall of the King of Salsa, a life cut short by both drug abuse and AIDS. Much of the film is devoted to musical sequences that bristle with the excitement of Salsa music and Anthony carries his role as Lovoe very well.

The cast is uniformly excellent with some fine new faces. Write/director Leon Ichaso lets the drama slip a bit in favor of the music, but still the performance of Jennifer Lopez as the smart but sleazy, tacky and wise Puchi is dynamite. The film is far more solid than expected: the opportunity for Lopez to demonstrate her talent is well worth watching. Grady Harp

I'm a gringo from NYC, but I was born in 1954, my wife is Colombian, and I am well familiar with Lavoe and the '70s salsa scene. I love the music and listen to it almost daily (one thing that annoyed me about the movie was that it pretty much claimed Lavoe, Colon, Blades, and Fania invented 'Salsa' That's Afro-Cuban music, been around long before these guys!).

I read the review in the New York Times that called it a long music video, and I went anyway. In fact I was waiting for this movie for a good long time! I think that understanding or being open to the music is a big part of whether you will like it. Let's face it, salsa is not exactly a big part of the Anglo community, nor is it an easy music to understand. I see others have unfavorably compared this to 'Ray', but ya know, with no disrespect to Ray Charles, whom I also love, 'Hit the Road Jack' is a lot easier to like than the ten minute version of the song the film is named after.

JLo was brilliant in the film. Her portrayal of the beautiful, tough, wise-cracking Puerto Rican mujer was so dead-on, so loving, and so comical when needed. But, if you've never been around a woman like that, maybe it's hard to get.

And I don't want to knock Marc A by any means, he did it, from the quiet scenes to the magical scenes on stage. To me, he WAS Lavoe.

The movie's editing, the series of vignettes showing the pivotal scenes of their life, I don't get the criticism. You can only pack so much into two hours.

It's a tough story to sell American audiences so fortunately the budget was low (it seemed) and hopefully the film will make money. A lot of other salseros out there who should have their story told! Since we need a tragic story, how about La Lupe! Vaya, Denton Taylor

This movies almost deserves a full grade because it brought Hector's music back to life. I am fairly young and new to salsa (20 years old), and it was because of this movie that I now admire Hector and all his music. Sure, the movie may have focused a bit too much on his drug addiction, but Mark was not bad at all like some people are saying. He acted out the part pretty well. J-Lo could have been better in my opinion.

So to people who haven't seen the movie yet, I say: Watch it, it's pretty good, and don't be misled by all the negative feedback. Some critics just want to ruin it for the rest because they have biased opinions.

Salsa. The term was coined in the 1970s by young musicians like Hector Lavoe, Larry Harlow, Ray Baretto, Willie Colon, who wanted a different name for the kind of music they were playing. The term "salsa" was then popularized by Izzy Sanabria, owner of the Latin New York magazine, and Jerry Massuci, owner of Fania Records. There is a huge debate over whether "salsa" originated in Cuba or Puerto Rico. I love Afro-Cuban music, so I tend to favor Cuba, but it really doesn't matter as there are so many styles - Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican, LA, New York, Columbian, Mambo.

This film is a tribute to salsa and to Hector Lavoe - The Voice. Marc Anthony does a good job of impersonating Lavoe and giving us a look into his demons - alcohol, drugs, jealous fantasy. Jennifer Lopez plays his wife, Puchi, and we see the trials and tribulations of a marriage that was shaky at best.

Enjoy the music and enjoy JLo. What more do you want?

I was just blown over by Jennifer Lopez in the movie. She made the movie perfect for me. No false note! Time we get over her media image and recognise her as a great actress. She was stunning and convincing playing the different age groups, I could not take my eyes off her. She played it as she saw the role without prejudice. There is much depth and pathos in her performance. She conveyed so much in just a look. She made me feel all her emotions in the way she talked, she used a thicker accent in this movie that I thought was so real. The plot was kinda thin, but I think the director did not want to embelish too much, it is meant to be a biographical movie afterall. I wish they had made the movie loosely based on the real facts and not so conscientious of factual occurrences. A lot of people felt fit to judge the movie on a political point of view, which I deem debatable. This showed Jennifer Lopez dedication to the story,she could easily have made this into a showcase just for her, instead she stepped back. By doing so she actually allow us to cherish every time she was on the screen. BRAVA.

I hadn't expected much out of El Cantante seeing as how JLo was in it (not crazy about her acting skills) but I have to admit I liked it. I wasn't familiar with who Hector Lavoe was until my ex made me listen to the "Who Killed Hector Lavoe" soundtrack repeatedly. Prior to hearing the soundtrack I was familiar with a couple of his songs, didn't necessarily know they were his, and definitely unaware of who he was.

In comparison to "Ray" or "Walk the Line" I think El Cantante could've been much better. I liked how JLo acted as the 2002 version of Puchi. I think the makeup made her more authentic. She did well, but really, how much of it was acting? We've seen her play roles where she doesn't have a need to go back to her Bronx roots and it almost seems like she can't relate to her character as much as she does with Puchi or Selena. I'm from the Bronx so the attitude and the cursing is typical based on where I grew up and the girls in my school. Hell, I'm not an actress but if someone asked me to play Puchi I think I'd do a decent job. All in all, I thought she did well.

Marc Anthony did well. I haven't had a chance to see old Hector Lavoe videos and such but I thought he did a good job. Based on other comments, I think people who don't know who Marc Anthony is (pre JLo of course) jump to conclusions in thinking he's a nobody that's attached to JLo. Marc Anthony is a megastar to urban Latin Americans. I grew up listening to him and love his music, his style, everything. The fact that he took on this project with his wife just shows that he's willing to reach to other talents he'd like to pursue.

I think the movie should've started answering basic questions about Hector--who was in before he moved to NY, why did he move, why did his father not approve of him, it shows how he entered the drug scene but unlike Ray/Walk the Line it doesn't show his progression into becoming a drug addict. He says in one scene he doesn't want to touch anything drug related anymore yet he's high nearly the entire film. I loved the music but doesn't answer how he became famous in the U.S., why salsa was such a hit at that time. I know he and Willie Colon were very good friends but I didn't get a sense that their characters were portrayed as such. I didn't think the cast was as cohesive as it could've been, with the exception of JLo and Marc. I went to a Hector Lavoe tribute concert back in November and I have to say that was a much better show than this movie. Not to say the movie's not worth it, but just could've been better. I think they highlighted his drug dependence too much without answering basic questions or showing who he was as a person. In the 2002 Puchi interview scene, she says that Hector was funny, but doesn't really show his humorous side as much. Every time it seemed that a meatier scene was about to develop (i.e., when they fought after their son's funeral), rather than let that carry on for a few more minutes the scene would switch to something else. So, overall, I like the music, love Hector's legacy even more, admire Puchi for her strength but left looking at my watch and wondering when it would be over. Hopefully they make another version that would satisfy the audience's curiosity.

Some IMDB movie ratings are just wrong. That applies here. Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez deserved awards, they were that good. This movie is super intense and they, along with all of the actors, nailed it. 50+ years after the genre burst onto the New York City and global scene, Salsa shows no sign of slowing down. So if you want to see how Salsa all started -- the record label, the artists, the culture, the times and of course the music -- you need to watch this movie. It's really well done.