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Viva
Baseball, 2005, 98 minutes, Rated TV-G
By Ramona Prioleau
Long
considered America's favorite pastime, baseball is also one of
America's notable exports. In the 19th century, baseball took root in
the Spanish-speaking nations of the Caribbean. In 1947 when Jackie
Robinson broke the American major league color barrier, there were 3
Latin players in the majors. In 2005, 44% of professional baseball
players come from Spanish-speaking countries. While the latter fact is
impressive, little has been cinematically produced to document the
struggles endured by Latinos decades ago as they blazed trails
followed by so many.
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In Viva Baseball, filmmaker Dan Klores
spotlights the magnificent history of Latinos in baseball generally
and the major league in particular. From an original interview, New
York Mets and former Boston Red Sox star Pedro Martinez introduces the
documentary and appropriately sets the tone of the film with his
acknowledgement of the difficulties that are a consequence of
immigrating to a new nation to ply your trade. Moreover, Martinez
insightfully declares his profound gratitude for the Latino
ballplaying trailblazers. With palpable sincerity, Martinez states,
"I owe those [players] and the legacy that they left for
us."
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Martinez's
statements are indicative of the sentiments echoed by the other
contemporary players who appear in the film. But thankfully, the
interviews with contemporary players, while an interesting aside, take
second place to the more compelling reflections and illuminating tales
of the old timers who exude pride as well as the humility and wisdom
that comes with age.
Narrated by balladeer Marc Anthony and backed by a
soundtrack of 30 songs, themes of race, culture, language and personal
conflict structure the film that traces the Latin invasion of the
American pastime from the 19th century until the present day. These
themes are developed from rare archival footage and more than 100
hours of interviews with today's superstars David Ortiz, Alex
Rodriquez, Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran and Miguel Tejada as well as
renowned Latino members of Baseball's Hall of Fame - Rod Carew , Juan Marichal, Orlando Cepeda, and Tony
Perez, plus footage of the great Luis Aparacio. In
addition, Viva Baseball features touching segments with the widow and
children of the great Robert Clemente.
Richly satisfying and poignantly portrayed, Viva
Baseball is well worth multiple viewings.
M
September 2005
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