Málaga, (EFE).- The life of Joe Arroyo, the Colombian king of salsa, had lights and darkness, and the biographical film “Rebelión”, which, according to its director, José Luis Rugeles, “could be enjoyed with your eyes closed” due to the prominence of the music, offers a non-complacent vision of the character.
“It is the story of a genius who had three great loves. The eldest was music, then drugs and then his family. The three loves were revolving in life and each time he moved further away from the family, getting closer to drugs and music was always with him by his side, ”explains the Colombian Rugeles.
Rebelión, this Colombian, Argentinean and US co-production, presented this Sunday in the official section of the Malaga Festival, was born from the director’s admiration for Joe Arroyo, who is “part of the Colombian soundtrack.”
But he did not want to “make a tropical film that is complacent with the music and the fans, but understanding that the life of a genius is sometimes also uncomfortable, not only full of pleasures, but creating and feeling is a pain that Joe carries inside.”
“He was a wonderful guy full of anecdotes, and the film is a fight against the anecdotes, which haunted us. We made the decision to enter the strong darkness of Joe’s life. People are used to seeing the lives of these artists through show business magazines, and when they find the B-side for people it’s a conflict.”
Outstanding work by Jhon Narváez
He acknowledges that it was “very complex and risky” to show this dark face of an idol in Colombia and “not tell what people want to hear”, and that he was “very afraid” of facing his family and friends, but after having seen these the film has come out “well off”.
The work of actor Jhon Narváez stands out, who according to Rugeles not only played Arroyo, but “became Joe.”
“Joe was a very sick person, and John started getting sick four days before shooting started. I connected him with my shaman, who began to work on his energies”, reveals the director.
Throughout the creation process, the film had several titles, but in the end he decided that “the most pertinent” was “Rebelión”, as one of his biggest musical successes was also called.
“He was a rebel in his time, he wasn’t in the mold of normal musicians and he was always falling out of everything. If you pay attention to the lyrics of his songs, you understand many keys to his life. In tropical music we are very used to dancing or enjoying ourselves, but little to listening to the lyrics of the songs”. EFE