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Langston Faizon Santisima is an African-American actor and comedian from Santiago de Cuba known for Wanda from Elf, Big Worm from Friday, Sean "Sweet" Johnson from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Jahmal Abdul Jackson from The Replacements, Bruce the Bear from Zookeeper, Robin Harris from Bébé's Kids and Maurice from The Meteor Man.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Olga Guillot was born on 9 October 1923 in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. She was an actress, known for Cita con la muerte (1949), Cry of the Bewitched (1957) and Una estrella y dos estrellados (1960). She died on 12 July 2010 in Miami Beach, Florida, USA.- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Marco Rizo is best remembered as musical director for the popular television show I Love Lucy (1951) during its lengthy run from 1951 to 1957. He famously co-wrote the jaunty theme song. Marco was born in 1920 in Santiago, Cuba. He was immersed in music from early childhood. His father, chief flutist with the Santiago Symphony Orchestra (simultaneously, also the front man for a popular jazz band) took his son under a rigorous training regime in classical music, Latin and jazz. By the age of sixteen, Marco had become Cuba's foremost concert pianist, on occasion performing in tandem with established musicians like Ernesto Lecuona. In 1940, he was awarded a scholarship at Juilliard and moved to the United States.
After two years of wartime service as a member of the 2nd Army Military Band (which effectively dispensed with his piano-playing talents), Marco was offered the chance to join the popular Afro-Cuban dance orchestra of his childhood friend Desi Arnaz. Until 1950, he accompanied the group on its nationwide tour in his capacity as pianist and orchestrator. During his subsequent work on "I Love Lucy" he resumed his musical studies at UCLA under the tutelage of Igor Stravinsky and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. This was very much in keeping with his natural preference for classical music. At this time, he also began turning out arrangements for performers ranging from Carmen Miranda and Xavier Cugat to Yma Sumac, as well as scoring feature films for Columbia, MGM and Paramount. From 1960, he held positions as orchestrator for CBS and for the Royal Viking Line of cruise ships, as well as pursuing a successful solo career giving piano recitals and recording some thirty albums of Cuban classical music (18th to 20th century) and featuring his own compositions like "Danzas Cubanas" and "Suite Campesina". In the 80's, he established a foundation -- the SouthAmerican Music Project -- dedicated to educating children in Latin music,- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Charles Ashenoff was born on 6 June 1964 in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. He is an actor and writer, known for WCW Monday Nitro (1995), Lucha Underground (2014) and WCW Worldwide (1975).- Director
- Writer
Roberto Monticello was born in Cuba. He began his career writing and directing for the stage, receiving numerous awards and grants, before becoming a film director and settling in New York City. He is one of few Cuban-born directors living in the U.S. with permission to shoot in Cuba.
In addition to writing and directing films, Monticello has devoted much of his life to human rights and environmental causes. He has journeyed three times to Ethiopia during the famine, once as a camp director, for which he received the UNICEF Relief Dag Hammarshjold Medal 'In the Name of the World's Children'.
He was arrested, beaten and threatened several times while traveling through South America in pursuit of Nazi war criminals. He has traveled throughout Central America as a troubleshooter for human rights organizations, lived with Peruvian Indians in the Andes and recorded human rights abuses in Afghanistan during the Russian presence.
He has concentrated great effort on ending the U.S. Embargo and Travel Ban to Cuba, bringing a boatload of medicine twice a year and making films in Cuba to promote a peaceful resolution. He is producing two Cuba-themed documentaries - one, "Looking For Cuba," which deals directly with the U.S. Embargo - and with writing partner _Doug Klozzner_ has written two Cuban-themed feature scripts: "Son Cubano", an action-filled tale about the seeds of freedom in Cuba, and "Free Again: La Lupe's Story", the true life drama of legendary singer La Lupe.
Recently back from Darfur, after being wounded on a mission for the Red Cross, Roberto was given the 2007 Film Humanitarian Award at the Fifth Queens International Film Festival.
2008 Humanitarian Film Projects:
"Children of the Night"
A documentary expose of the trafficking of children from Cambodia, Malaysia and the Phillipines to the U.S. for sexual purposes. To date, 34 children have been rescued by the film crew and several "homes" have been closed due to the attention this film has created. This project is in mid-production.
"The World's Crying"
A montage of footage shot by Roberto in Darfur and Rwanda during the genocides; Sri Lanka during the tsunami; Sarajevo during the ethnic cleansing; and New Orleans during the event of Hurricane Katrina.
"Carnaval de Cuba"
A look at Carnaval and religion in Cuba today. Principal photography complete; currently in post-production.
"Looking for Cuba"
A piece on the Anti-U.S. Embargo and Travel Ban. This film was recently shown at the United Nations and is currently on the festival circuit.
"Native Americans"
A view into the current state of American Indians. Marlon Brando was the original executive producer. Principal photography is nearly complete; currently shooting on Indian reservations in Long Island, NY.
"Cannibals & Missionaries"
Written and directed by Roberto for Tri-Continental Films. This project is complete, seeking distribution. A planned sequel entitled "Cultural Survival" has been shot in 6 countries in Latin America.
Monticello is also a published poet, novelist and journalist. Resides in New York City.- Writer
- Soundtrack
Italo Calvino was born on 15 October 1923 in Santiago de Las Vegas, Cuba. He was a writer, known for Boccaccio '70 (1962), Tiko and the Shark (1962) and L'amore difficile (1962). He was married to Esther Calvino. He died on 19 September 1985 in Siena, Tuscany, Italy.- Actress
- Composer
Cuban jazz pianist, composer and vocalist of international renown. Born Numidia Vaillant Villalón in a family of musicians, her grandfather was Máximo Villalón, founder of the Music Espadero Conservatory in Santiago de Cuba, while her mother and aunt were piano teachers. According to Numidia's own testimony she "learned to read music before learning to read and write". Young Numidia developed a reputation playing Beethoven, Chopin, and all the classics but was also influenced by American jazz. She proved her versatility when she was hired by a local radio station as a piano player backing several vocalists in a talent search contest.
In the late 1940s, after graduating with a master in pedagogy, Numidia decided to expand her musical education in Havana. She registered at the Municipal Conservatory where she studied under the direction of famed professor Joaquín Nin Culmell. Soon her talents were in great demand by composers such as César Portillo de la Luz or Marta Valdés who needed help in writing down their songs to music and the arrangements. Numidia also became invaluable as piano player and arranger for popular vocalists, among them Doris de la Torre with whom she formed a long professional and personal relationship.
Numidia Vaillant became an important part of the Havana musical scene and was signed to CMQ-TV, at the time Cuba's most powerful radio and television network. She developed an act in which she would play the piano, sing and joke around in several programs to the delight of the audience. As an outstanding musician, Numidia was the only pianist in the network's concert orchestra and sometimes she would surprise everybody by playing Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue by memory without sheet music. That didn't deter Numidia from playing jazz in night club engagements or to join other jazz musicians in impromptu jam sessions that would last all night. At this point, it seemed that Numidia was everywhere including the recording studios. Her sessions with Esther Borja and Luis Carbonell, were quite successful and are still on record catalogs.
On one of those sessions, Numidia met the Benitez sisters, a vocal quintet that was very popular at the time and had signed a contract to perform in the United States. For the tour they needed a pianist and arranger so Numidia got the job. They were billed as Numidia Vaillant and The Cuban Cuties and for most of 1957 they performed all over the United States with great success. However, in certain cities, the artists were quite shocked and upset by the racism they encountered, especially in the South. Numidia swore never to perform in The United States again.
Once back in Cuba, the artist proceeded with her activities on television and night clubs, however she could not help but notice the political unrest that was sabotaging the Havana night scene. Right then and there she decided to realize one of her dearest childhood dreams, to visit Paris, France. Once her mind was made up nothing stopped her, not even the fact that she had no performing contract, and had to pay her own way to the City of Lights. She arrived in Paris in early November of 1958 with nothing except some recommendation letters given to her by fans belonging to affluent Havana families, addressed to their friends in Parisian high society. Numidia's intention was merely to explore the city of her dreams, learn about European culture, study music, and practice the French she took at the French Alliance in Havana. She was warmly received and it wasn't long before the word spread about her presence in Paris and her uniqueness as an artist. The management of the famed Blue Note, a branch of the New York jazz club, came calling with an offer, and Numidia made an auspicious debut at that prestigious venue located in the Champs-Élysées. From then on it was an enduring love affair between the Cuban artist and the French people.
Now that she had achieved stardom, Numidia did not rest on her laurels but registered at the Conservatory of Paris to further her musical education during the day. At night time she continued performing at the Blue Note and other jazz places such as the BeBop or the Susy Polidor and became known as the queen of the iconic Parisian district of Saint-Germain des Près. When she graduated from the Conservatory in 1961, Numidia had time to record and accept contracts abroad. She performed with great success in Barcelona (Spain), Nize (Italy), Hamburg (Germany), Oslo (Norway), and Helsinki (Finland) where she was asked to star in a film as an actress and write the soundtrack music. The movie was titled "Yö vai päivä" (1962) directed by Risto Jarva and Jaakko Pakkasvirta, which is considered a remarkable contribution of Finland to the Nouvelle Vague film movement. This residency in Helsinki lasted two years and was very special for Numidia since, besides the film, she was asked to record and, in a more personal note, she found love with a Finnish gentleman and the couple had a daughter they named Anaïta.
Back in her beloved Paris, Numidia continued performing in the most prestigious venues, writing music, as well as recording. She produced several hit records, among them "Juanita, la chismosa" which was recorded by the Spanish tenor Luis Mariano. Throughout the years, she always found time from her Parisian work to tour Europe and more distant countries like Israel and Japan where she maintained a faithful following. Nothing seemed to stop this trendsetter artist, not even the loss of her sight nor when she was diagnosed with cancer later on. In May 2015 she performed at the Sunset Sunside Jazz Club and this concert was video taped for television. She had no idea it would be her last. On October 1, 2015 this gifted lady, one of the greatest pianists ever, passed away in Paris. Her body was interred at the Gouvieux cemetery and she has now become as legendary as the city of her dreams.
