The Mambo Kings (1992) on Netflix
In 1952 Havana, brothers Cesar and Nestor Castillo play the local clubs. A violent dispute with the mobsters who own one drives the musicians to New York City and the mambo scene.
- Netflix3.4/5
- IMDb6.4/106,401 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes82%
Trailer
Plot summary
The Castillo brothers, Cesar and Nestor, play the clubs of Havana in 1952 and their careers have stalled there. After a violent run-in with the mobsters who own one of those clubs, Cesar persuades Nestor to leave Cuba with him for New York City, where the two take menial jobs and work the downtown rooms. Cesar wants to rank with the biggest names in Latin music; Nestor wants only a small club of his own. On a night out Cesar takes up with Lanna Lake, a cigarette girl. Nestor keeps writing a ballad for Maria Rivera, the woman he left behind in Cuba. He then meets Delores Fuentes, a shy young woman studying to become a teacher, and the two marry when she becomes pregnant.
Cast
- Pablo Calogeroas Ramon - The Mambo Kings Band
- Mario Grilloas Mario - The Mambo Kings Band
- Ralph Irizarryas Pito - The Mambo Kings Band
- James Medinaas Manny - The Mambo Kings Band (as Jimmy Medina)
- Marcos Quintanillaas Willie - The Mambo Kings Band
Show all 20 cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Mambo Kings (1992)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Warner Bros. initially wanted Jeremy Irons and Ray Liotta, fresh off Reversal of Fortune and Goodfellas, to play the Castillo brothers instead of Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas; director Arne Glimcher had Banderas spend a month improving his English before a screen test opposite Irons.
- Annabella Sciorra was originally cast as Delores Fuentes but dropped out over a scheduling conflict, and Dutch actress Maruschka Detmers was hired to replace her only two weeks before filming began, marking Detmers's American film debut.
- After multiple studios rejected the project, director Arne Glimcher paid the crew's salaries out of his own pocket while he kept shopping the film, eventually pitching Universal Pictures president Tom Pollock on backing it with a low budget.
- Glimcher was initially turned down by Lucille Ball's children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr., when he asked to license I Love Lucy footage; Universal then dropped the project over budget disputes, and Glimcher only secured the rights after writing Arnaz Jr. a personal letter in 1990.
- Antonio Banderas only mimicked the posture and finger placements for his character's trumpet solos on screen; the real playing was performed off camera by musician Arturo Sandoval.
