Salsa is a truly captivating and mesmerizing dance. It’s so enthralling that over the years, many movies have been created around the salsa dance theme.
You could go and watch all the salsa movies in the world to find the best ones, or you could watch the ones on our list. We’ve gladly spent hours compiling this list and we can guarantee each of these are worth the watch.
Although this list might be subjectively based on our own preferences, we believe you’ll find what you’re looking for, whoever you are.
Sit back and enjoy our list of timeless salsa movies.
The 3 Best Salsa Dance Movies You Need to Watch
Dance Like Your Favourite Stars
#3. Cuban Fury
Year Released: 2014
Runtime: 1h 38min
Genre: Comedy, Romance
IMDB Rating: 6.2/10
Starring: Nick Frost, Rashida Jones, Chris O’Dowd
We laughed a lot while watching this one and would definitely recommend it. To be fair, it’s hard not to enjoy a movie with Nick Frost in it.
Cuban Fury is the funny story of Bruce Garrett (played by Nick Frost) who rediscovers his love for salsa through his infatuation with his new boss Julia (played by Rashida Jones).
As a kid, Bruce used to love dancing salsa and was pretty good at it. That is until he lost his passion after a bullying incident. Now that he’s all grown up and grudgingly going through life’s paces, he meets Julia and finds out that she loves salsa. Bruce then decides to take up salsa again but quickly realizes that he doesn’t have the same moves he used to.
A definite must-watch for all salsa lovers.
#2. The Mambo Kings
Year Released: 1992
Runtime: 1h 44min
Genre: Musical drama
IMDB Rating: 6.4/10
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Armand Assante, Pablo Calogero
Salsa dance, a young Antonio Banderas and the timeless Armand Assante? Say no more.
The Mambo Kings is a movie based on the Pulitzer-winning novel of the same name written by Oscar Hijuelos. It tells the story of two Cuban Castillo brothers and musicians, Cesar and Nestor (Armand and Antonio), who move to the U.S. to become famous.
The movie also features the legendary Tito Fuente and Celia Cruz.
#1. El Cantante
Year Released: 2006
Runtime: 1h 46min
Genre: Biopic
IMDB Rating: 5.5/10
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, John Ortiz
The stars and music in this movie are reason enough to watch this movie.
El Cantante tells the real-life story of legendary salsa singer, Héctor Lavoe (Marc Anthony). The story is told by his wife Puchi (Jennifer Lopez) who at one point says the following about her husband:
“The more he grew as an artist, the more he sank as a person.”
A fascinating tale about the rise and fall of a genuine star.
Dance Like Your Favourite Stars
Once you’ve watched our list of salsa movies and seen your favourite actors dance, it’s time to try the real thing.
Heart of Dance offers salsa dance classes by world-renowned dance instructors in Dubai.
