
I Like It Like That. 1994. USA. Written and directed by Darnell Martin. With Luna Lauren Vélez, Jon Seda, Desiree Casado. 35mm. 104 min.
“Latin music and popular culture are so rarely depicted from a woman’s point of view that Darnell Martin’s debut feature seemed an anomaly when it was first released—and maybe it still does. Exuberantly directed and shot with unvarnished attention to the details of street life in the Bronx neighborhood where Martin grew up, the film is much more than its bittersweet narrative about a young mother who has to become the breadwinner when her husband goes to jail. Almost by accident, she gets a job working for a record company specializing in Latin music and proves herself better at discovering and producing new sounds than her white boss. It doesn’t make her life easier, but her success is certainly satisfying to her and to everyone watching” (Amy Taubin).