Santos – Skin To Skin

A musical legend who has been nominated for seven Grammys and made a US Artists Fontanals Fellow, John Santos has been at the forefront of Afro-Latin music for decades. Kathryn Golden tells his story in a documentary which is alive with the rhythms and melodies of multiple Latin American countries, individually and in fusion, capturing the spirit of the man in the music, letting newcomers gauge intuitively why the story matters.

This is a film born out of the Latinx immigrant experience, conscious of its own cultural positioning just as its subject is. A wealth of family photos illustrate the early part of his life, showing us the glamorously attired parents who both loved jazz and surrounded him with music of many different kinds during his childhood. There are also photos from his early gigs, before and after he began getting notice. They capture the character of the period beautifully, depicting small, crowded bars and lively streets. Although the shadow of discrimination lurks in the background, limiting opportunities, the film takes its tone from Santos’ upbeat approach to life in those early years, his determination to to get on with life on his own terms and the extraordinary talent which enabled him to get away with it.

Santos described jazz as the folklore music of the US, and his understanding of this function, his fluency with regard to the stories it has to tell, comes across here as one of the defining factors in his career. His early awareness of the diversity of immigrants looking to him for a voice led him to develop a fluency in multiple musical traditions and, over time, develop his own unique sound as a result, in addition to the Afro-Cuban rhythms for which he is best known. Golden illustrates how this musical journey corresponded with a changing social climate and shifting ideas about what it meant to be an immigrant, and to be an American.

As those already familiar with Santos’ story will anticipate, there are also moments of tragedy here, notably the loss of a baby. Her mother’s recollection of how he sang to her during her short life in a hospital bed will be hard for some viewers to watch, but reveals his ability to bring some sweetness to the most devastating situations. It’s also a testament to his resilience and to that of the people around him. As well as observing rehearsals and concerts the film also explores his community activism and the way that he perceives music as a socio-political tool with an important place in the struggle for minority advancement and equality.

Relatively few musicians get to feature in this kind of film whilst they’re still alive, and Golden’s interest in cultural history benefits significantly from having Santos himself participate. He’s backed up by a cast of family members, former bandmates and other musicians, all with stories to tell. The resulting narrative is meandering and sometimes tangled, but even though the rhythms may vary, the themes shine through.