Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Singing of dubious desire: Imperio Argentina and Penélope Cruz as Nazi Germany’s exotic Other
- 2 Voicing gender: transgender performance and the national imaginary in the Spanish cinema of the democratic era
- 3 Bien pagá: popular song in the films of Pedro Almodóvar
- 4 El otro lado de la cama: remixed Transition (1973–82)
- 5 On the function of punk aesthetics in Salto al vacío and Historias del Kronen
- 6 Mobile soundscapes in the quinqui film
- 7 Song-shaped cinema: the performance of Gypsy and Basque songs in relation to film form
- 8 Travelling song: music, iteration and translation in La leyenda del tiempo
- 9 Sound moves: immigration and music in Cosas que dejé en La Habana
- 10 The Afro-Cuban soundscape of Mexico City: authenticating spaces of violence and immorality in Salón México and Víctimas del pecado
- 11 Blues traveller: Habana Blues and the framing of diasporic cubanía
- 12 Dancing in the dark: Saura’s Tango
- 13 Re-making Frida Kahlo through song in Frida
- 14 ‘Silence! Fado is about to be sung’: fado and the comédia à portuguesa
- 15 Sounds from Brazil: brasilidade and the rise of the music documentary
- 16 Soundtrack to roguery: music and malandragem in the city
- 17 The Brazilian chanchada’s musical moments and the performance of identity
- 18 Orpheus in Babylon: music, myth and realism in the fi lms of Rio de Janeiro
- Index
9 - Sound moves: immigration and music in Cosas que dejé en La Habana
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 December 2025
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Singing of dubious desire: Imperio Argentina and Penélope Cruz as Nazi Germany’s exotic Other
- 2 Voicing gender: transgender performance and the national imaginary in the Spanish cinema of the democratic era
- 3 Bien pagá: popular song in the films of Pedro Almodóvar
- 4 El otro lado de la cama: remixed Transition (1973–82)
- 5 On the function of punk aesthetics in Salto al vacío and Historias del Kronen
- 6 Mobile soundscapes in the quinqui film
- 7 Song-shaped cinema: the performance of Gypsy and Basque songs in relation to film form
- 8 Travelling song: music, iteration and translation in La leyenda del tiempo
- 9 Sound moves: immigration and music in Cosas que dejé en La Habana
- 10 The Afro-Cuban soundscape of Mexico City: authenticating spaces of violence and immorality in Salón México and Víctimas del pecado
- 11 Blues traveller: Habana Blues and the framing of diasporic cubanía
- 12 Dancing in the dark: Saura’s Tango
- 13 Re-making Frida Kahlo through song in Frida
- 14 ‘Silence! Fado is about to be sung’: fado and the comédia à portuguesa
- 15 Sounds from Brazil: brasilidade and the rise of the music documentary
- 16 Soundtrack to roguery: music and malandragem in the city
- 17 The Brazilian chanchada’s musical moments and the performance of identity
- 18 Orpheus in Babylon: music, myth and realism in the fi lms of Rio de Janeiro
- Index
Summary
This chapter presents a study of Cosas que dejé en La Habana, focusing on the way music is used in a film mainly concerned with questions of immigration and cultural allegiance. Directed by one of Spain's foremost filmmakers, Cosas is one of the films that have addressed the plight of foreigners seeking to make their home in Spain. The mainly favourable critical reception of Cosas's portrayal of immigrant Cuban life in Spain often mentioned Gutiérrez Aragón's Cuban family ties and the input of the Cuban scenarist Senel Paz. The use of Cuban actors added authenticity to the film, something further endorsed in Jorge Perugorría's description of it as 'my most Cuban Spanish film'. In Cosas percussive sounds are often used to prepare the viewer for affirmations or memories of Cuba.
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- Screening songs in Hispanic and Lusophone cinema , pp. 151 - 166Publisher: Manchester University PressFirst published in: 2025
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