Mafifa

• Daniela Muñoz Barroso
• 77 min
• Cuba
• 2021
• Documentary

Deeply personal documentary road movie and an enrapturing, impressionistic portrait of the mythical female Cuban percussion musician Mafifa.
Mafifa, or Gladys Esther Linares as she was called, was short in stature but a huge musical talent that left an indelible impression on everyone who met or heard her play. She played the traditionally male instrument “campana” – a heavy bell made of the metal brake-drum of a motor-vehicle – and also challenged society beyond the conga orchestra’s prevailing gender norms. 40 years after Mafifa’s passing at only 44 years old, filmmaker Daniela Muñoz Barroso tracks the legend back to Santiago de Cuba. The result is an entrancing, unconventional documentary that is just as much about Muñoz Barroso herself as her fascination for Mafifa and music – despite her own hearing impairment.


- Johan Blomqvist

• Musik
• Dokumentär
• Utmanande
• Historia