RECORDANDO EL MAMONCILLO/REMEMBERING THE MAMONCILLO
In Spanish and English with English subtitles.
Directed and produced by Pam Sporn
Camera: Rafael Parra, Pam Sporn
Editor: Pam Sporn
2007
15 Minutes

Every second Sunday of July from the 1960s through the early 2000s, hundreds of Cubans and lovers of Cuban music assembled at the Bohemian Beer Garden in Queens for the Recordando el Mamoncillo festival. Remembering the Mamoncillo gives viewers a taste of that joyous event.

The festival was hosted by el Club Cubano Interamericano and modeled after an annual dance that many of the club’s members had attended in Cuba. “El Mamoncillo” was not just a dance, but also an event that maintained Cuban culture, particularly Afro-Cuban culture, and provided a way for Cuban families and friends to reunite every year.