By Bill Keveney. USA Today. November 17, 2000
Trumpeter Arturo Sandoval defected from Cuba in 1990, but he sees HBO's For
Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story as the story of what he embraced as
well as escaped.
''It's a love story (about a man and a woman). But it's also the love of
music, love for freedom, love for family,'' says Sandoval, explaining why he
fled the communist island while on an international concert tour.
The movie (Saturday, 9 p.m. ET/PT) was shot in Miami and Puerto Rico, but
Cuba -- from its music and culture to its oppressive government -- might as well
be an uncredited co-star. Both Grammy winner Sandoval, 51, and Andy Garcia, 44,
a Cuban exile who plays the jazz trumpeter, expressed a love for their native
land and a passionate distaste for its politics.
''Unless you lived in a society like Cuba of the last 40 years, it's very
hard to understand what that psychological oppression and repression is on a
daily basis,'' says Garcia, who came to the USA with his family as a 5-year-old
in 1961.
For Love or Country follows Sandoval during the 1970s and 1980s, as he
enjoys a successful musical career, falls in love and marries a beautiful woman,
but nevertheless chafes at his lack of freedom.
He initially clashes with his wife, Marianela (Mia Maestro of Tango), a
government worker and Castro supporter who changes her view as she sees
communism's effect on her fellow Cubans, especially her husband. Gloria Estefan,
another Cuban native, plays Marianela's friend.
As Sandoval tries to defect, a U.S. Embassy official (David Paymer) can't
understand how a renowned musician, treated much better than his countrymen, can
claim to be oppressed. Sandoval must rely on a friend, American jazz great Dizzy
Gillespie (Charles S. Dutton), to help him gain asylum.
Material benefits mean nothing, Sandoval says, when the government denies
civic and creative freedom.
''They hate artists. They prefer people who are lambs,'' he says.
If politics is the film's heavy, music, Sandoval's in particular, is the
hero. The trumpeter composed and performed the score for the film. Although
Sandoval is famed for his performance of Cuban-flavored jazz, he enjoys playing
many styles of music, including classical, blues and funk.
He is joined on the soundtrack by Garcia, who plays percussion. Garcia also
plays piano in the reception scene following Sandoval's marriage.
''Music is the purest art form. There's a spiritual quality that is unique
to it,'' he says. ''When I get a chance to play with Arturo, it's a great rush
for me.''
Music literally saved Sandoval. It allowed him to go on international
concert tours, which gave him the opportunity to defect. And it introduced him
to Gillespie, who asked Vice President Dan Quayle to cut through the
bureaucratic red tape on Sandoval's behalf.
Garcia (The Godfather Part III), who is executive producer, is pleased to be
able to show this perspective of Cuba to viewers. He says the weight of
government oppression often isn't conveyed by the U.S. media.
''The media tend to have a very lenient or liberal or sometimes a naive
point of view of what's going on in Cuba and what Fidel Castro's regime is
really about,'' Garcia says. ''It's a lot worse than what we portrayed in this
movie, believe me.''
Movies about Latino characters or topics aren't made often enough, but there
has been progress, says Garcia, who has played both Latino and non-Latino
characters. He is trying to complete financing for another movie about Cuba, The
Lost City, which he will direct. He also directed a 1993 documentary about famed
Cuban bassist Cachao (born Israel Lopez).
Both Sandoval and Garcia would like to return to Cuba -- once Castro leaves
and democracy returns.
''I dream of going back to Cuba every day,'' says Garcia, who visited the
Guantanamo Bay U.S. naval base with Estefan a few years ago. ''Given that there
was a democracy in place in Cuba, I would definitely spend a lot of time
there.''
But Garcia wouldn't give up his life here, saying he treasures America.
Sandoval remains attached to his new country. Most of his close family members
live near him in Florida.
''I would like to go back (to Cuba), but not to stay,'' he says. ''I love
Miami.'' | 