In six months you see that same (Spanish spoken) and all of the sudden they're a New York hipster.ĬOX: I spoke with Chalfant about the film. He comes to New York City in the ‘40s, goes to the Park Palace Ballroom on 110th Street and 5th Avenue, and the band that they heard was the Machito Orchestra. Unidentified Man #1: You could take the most uneducated person from the mountains of Puerto Rico, (Spanish spoken), as we say. (Soundbite of movie “From Mambo to Hip-Hop”)
The new documentary features music legends of the era describing how the music scenes in that borough shaped people's lives over the last 60 years. Chalfant co-created the classic documentary Style Wars, which is still considered one of the most important films in hip-hop history.Ī few years ago, Chalfant returned to the Bronx to work on his latest film project, From Mambo to Hip-Hop.
He was captured the city's graffiti culture just as it was taking off. New York photographer and filmmaker Henry Chalfant spent a lot of time in the Bronx during the 1980s.
