B Is For Bachata: Review. By Robert Ewing.

Culture plays a huge role in our identity, particularly for first-generation immigrants who bring aspects of their heritage with them, linking them back to their home country. However, as they have children and grandchildren, the newer generations of immigrants adopt elements of their new country’s culture and integrate it into their own. At some point, there is a genuine possibility that they lose their connection to their heritage and fully embrace the new culture. B Is for Bachata addresses this theme and so much more in a somewhat uneven short film.

The film opens at a party; it’s Yonathan’s (Andresito Germosen De La Cruz) graduation, and we see his family attending, making the celebration distinctly Dominican. Dominican music plays in the background, and people dance to it. This prompts Yonathan to confess to his cousins, Manny (Franceli Chapman) and Beatris (Cesar Pichardo), that he has never danced Bachata before. This leads to a discussion about the significance of the music and dance in their culture, as well as its importance to their family lineage.

While B Is for Bachata appears quite simple on paper, its presentation is rather chaotic. Many intriguing editing choices confuse rather than having a natural flow from shot to shot; the short could more accurately be described as over-edited. This disarray in the editing causes the narrative to feel scattered. One moment, the characters are discussing Yonathan’s lack of dancing ability, and mere seconds later, the conversation shifts to the significance of music. Although it certainly has a great deal to convey within its 13-minute runtime, I feel it attempts to achieve too much. I wish it focused on a handful of elements executed well, rather than an array of themes that are poorly explored.

It is disheartening to express this, as the themes emphasising the importance of culture and the necessity to preserve it across generations are indeed meaningful. One can sense that writer and director Ricky Rosario intends to convey this. However, it becomes obscured amid the myriad of other narrative elements, such as cultural appropriation, the history of the music, and the family’s connection to Bachata, which ultimately diminishes the true impact of the film by its conclusion.

B Is for Bachata had the potential to be a poignant and significant short, yet ultimately, it ends up feeling rather messy. The experience of navigating through so much erratic editing results in a disappointing short that is brimming with potential.

2 stars

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