We Like It Like That, a documentary that examines the rise and lasting influence of Latin Boogaloo, comes to iTunes March 15.
Directed by Mathew Ramirez Warren, the 78-minute feature looks at the rhythmic music that rose from the streets of Spanish Harlem and The Bronx in the ‘60s and merged funk, jazz, R&B and Afro-Cuban sounds.
In this exclusive first look at the movie’s poster and trailer, Latin Boogaloo legend Johnny Colon addresses the infectious sound’s roots: “The boogaloo encompassed a sense of invention from the inside out, rather than from the outside in,” he says. The film also looks at political agendas that threatened to stifle the music and those making it.
The film’s title is a play on “I Like It Like That,”perhaps the best known Latin Boogaloo song, first made popular by Pete Rodriguez in 1967 and then through a remake by The Blackout All-Stars in 1994. In addition to Rodriguez and Colon, the film features other Boogaloo pioneers, including Joe Bataan, Ricardo Ray and Jimmy Sabater.
We Like It Like That premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in 2015. Around that time, Ramirez Warren tells Billboard that he began working on the documentary after writing a story on Colon and financed his picture through grants and a Kickstarter campaign.
The musical movement, which faded in prominence as salsa rose in the ‘70s and is now experiencing a resurgence, “reflects the American experience and I think that translates to all cultures, everyone who’s an immigrant,” Ramirez Warren tells Billboard. “It’s about those generations in flux, both assimilating, but kind of harkening back to their roots. That’s what boogaloo was all about.”
Before the iTunes launch, We Like It Like That, produced by Saboteur Media and Codigo Films,will be available via Reelhouse, a website where film creators can upload their work, for two weeks, starting March 1.
Coming March 11, Fania Records will release We Like It Like That: The Story of Latin Boogaloo Volume One, the film’s soundtrack, featuring Rodriguez’s “I Like It Like That,” Ray Baretto’s “New York Soul,” Eddie Palmieri’s “Azucar” and 11 other tracks.
Watch the trailer below: