Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film and Television celebrated the arrival of its new dean, Stephen Ujlaki, with a Hollywood sneak preview screening of American Masters: Cachao: Uno Mas, a documentary Ujlaki co-produced about the Grammy-winning Afro-Cuban jazz pioneer.
The documentary will air Monday, September 20 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings).
“Documentaries are a great opportunity to educate and shed light on areas and subjects that haven’t received the attention they deserve,” Ujlaki said. “Documentaries are also a great way for film students to develop their vision and craft. I want thoughtful, important, groundbreaking documentaries to be a trademark of Loyola’s School of Film and Television and its students. This event is a wonderful way to focus attention on that.”
Ujlaki was joined at the invitation-only screening and after-party by actor-director Andy Garcia, who helped revive Cachao’s career late in his long life and produced several of his albums. The two are pictured above with LMU President David W. Burcham. Garcia also co-produced the documentary with Ujlaki and Tom Luddy.
Israel “Cachao” Lopez is credited as the father of the mambo, a Cuban music style that became an international sensation in the 1940s and 1950s. Cachao also pioneered “descargas,” the ‘50s-era late-night jam sessions that brought together the island’s greatest musicians to experiment with new styles and approaches. Cachao and brother Orestes are credited with transforming the traditional Cuban danzon into what eventually became Latin jazz and salsa.
After Castro’s takeover of Cuba, Cachao moved to the United States, where he lived for 46 years before his passing in 2008. During the last 15 years of his life, Cachao won Latin Grammy Awards for two of the several albums he recorded during that period with Andy Garcia.
“Cachao is ‘La Mata,’ ‘The Tree,’” Garcia said in eulogizing Cachao after his death. “From this tree rooted in the deepest traditions of Cuban music, stems everything in modern Cuban music, music known to many as salsa. I consider our collaboration and friendship one of the most important accomplishments of my life.”
The screening took place at Hollywood’s Mann 6 Theater, a week before the documentary is to run on PBS as part of the acclaimed biography series American Masters.
At the after-party following the screening, Garcia performed with the Cineson All-Stars, and the group was also joined by jazz great Arturo Sandoval.
Ujlaki co-produced the documentary while at San Francisco State University, where he was head of the Cinema department for nine years and directed the DOC Film Institute, which he founded. He joined Loyola Marymount’s School of Film and Television as dean in July.
