Rota n' Roll

(Rota n' Roll)
Vanesa Benítez | Documentary

2019 | 75 minutes | Spain

In the 50s, a group of American marines brought dollars, Marlboros, Cadillacs, night clubs, and rock n´roll into post civil war Spain, an impoverished fascist dictatorship.

Synopsis

During the Cold War there was a corner on the Spanish seaside, where the United States controlled the threat of the fearsome Communist bloc of the Soviet Union. The largest American military base on European soil was built in Rota, a small and humble farming and fishing village that soon started to change.

Farmers like Juan "el Gato" lost his piece of land and fishermen like Antonio "el Cisquero" changed their fishing boats by warships. And then, thousands of American marines like Paul arrived with their huge cars that barely fit in the narrow streets, full with clubs where teenagers soldiers, like Mike, tried to find a shelter to forget about Vietnam. But there were also those who came back from Vietnam, and when the Sixth Fleet and the nuclear submarines were docked, "rock n 'roll" started in the town.

Streets full of bars and "sins," dollars, American smuggling products, stories of friendship,disagreement but also love stories between the marines and the girls in town. The tiny humble village got richer and bigger while, through the loudspeakers of the radio, the greatest hits of rock & roll provided a soundtrack to the base, broadcast from the base radio station for soldiers not to feel homesick. But the wave of sound ran through the fences and young people in the area discovered unknown melodies for the first time and many local music bands, such as "Los Radars," (so called because of the huge antenna that intercepted the signals of the Russian spy ships) and many other young people were brought up under all that cultural and social influence, thinking that "the real world" was that, when it was enough to come near a next village to wake up from the "American way of life" to the misery of the postwar period and to Franco´s dictatorship was still ruling in Spain. And all these things happened once upon a time, when Rota met the "Roll".

Citation
Main credits

Zamora, Vanesa Benítez (film director)
Zamora, Vanesa Benítez (screenwriter)
Kunschke, Daniel Méndez (film producer)
Vila, Javier (screenwriter)

Other credits

Cinematography, Antonio Galisteo; editing, Javier Vila.


Citation
Cataloging
Keywords
music,World War II,rock'n'roll,Spain,fascism,iberian studies,iberian peninsula,mediterranean,andorra,spain,portugal,andorra studies,spanish studies,portuguese studies,music,tune,melody,hymn,harmony,popular music,rock music,latin music,latinx music,latino music,spanish music,modern music,folk music,soul music,ibero-american music,latin american music,celtic music,flamenco,spanish classical music,classical spanish music,musicals,film musicals,movie musicals,musical films,spanish pop,latin pop,latin pop music,spanish pop music,authority,authoritarianism,dictatorship,military regime,military government,fascism,repression,oppression,political oppression,political repression,far right,far right wing,modern fascism,sociology,anthropology,psychology,sociological,sociological perspectives,conflict theory,human conflicts,sociological thinking,conflict perspective,topics in sociology,sociology topics,sociology studies,social studies,people and cultures,human relations,human relationships,cultural studies,culture studies,history,context,narrative,past,chronicle,lore,annals,historic,personal history,archive,record,saga,biography,memoir,study,music,tune,melody,hymn,harmony,popular music,rock music,latin music,latinx music,latino music,spanish music,modern music,folk music,soul music,ibero-american music,latin american music,celtic music,flamenco,spanish classical music,classical spanish music,musicals,film musicals,movie musicals,musical films,spanish pop,latin pop,latin pop music,spanish pop music,political science,micropolitics,macropolitics,political theory,political education,political movements,political thinking,political criticism,poly sci,polysci,political sci,political sciences,political history,history of politics,political system; "Rota n' Roll"; Pragda Films
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Festivals

Premios IMAGENERA - Documentary Creation

DIRECTOR: Vanesa Benítez

NATIONALITY: Spain

YEAR: 2019

GENRE: Documentary

LANGUAGE: Spanish

COLOR / B&W: Color

GRADE LEVEL: High School, College, Adult

SUBTITLE/CC: AVAILABLE

AUDIO DESCRIPTION: NOT AVAILABLE

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