Riccardo Bardellino, the producer of “Poison: First Fall: Jack’s Lightning,” is sad but grateful. This is what he told this newspaper, after the death of the legendary Dominican fighter Jack Veneno, idol of his childhood and adolescence, when he participated in the Eugenio María de Hostos park or in the Color Vision amphitheater, channel 9, in the television program of the fight.
“I took a few salamis and a few Forty Malt, I was lucky, I can’t complain,” he explained on the radio show “The Morning Sun, when in 2018 we were promoting the film.
In that interview, he detailed how the idea of making a trilogy of films about the life of Rafael Sánchez was born, the real name of the champion and whose first intention was to make a written biography, so he went home to fight for do a series of interviews in 2010.
“I really went to his house to thank him for everything he represented in my childhood and adolescence,” said Bardellino, who is a fan of the sport of “storytelling” of agility, courage, jumping and men in the air.
In modeling this project, the manufacturer had several intentions. First of all, pay homage to the “only Dominican superhero”, do justice to a generation of artists who want to offer all the talent that exists in this country, to save their own values, to use our music … “And to us we show what a quality cinema can do that doesn’t necessarily have to be a comedy ”.
For this, he was helped by director and publicist Taba Blanchard, screenwriter, director and editor of the film, for which it was a challenge to make a work that does justice to the size of the mythical figure of Jack Veneno, and on the other hand to recreate the whole visual environment in which the character was developed.
“Everyone in the production had the burden of making a cinematic work that was out of time,” said Blanchard, for whom working on a vintage film is at the same time a fascination, because it is what he likes the most and it is very commitment. ., for the visual fidelity it must have.
Therefore, for the realization of this first part of the life of the “World Ball Champion”, he commented that a thorough investigation had to be made about what the Dominican was like in those years, his way of speaking, his clothes, in short, to surprise the essence of those years, the second half of the 1960s and the first half of the 1970s.
“Poison: First Fall: Jack’s Lightning” premiered in February 2018 and the second part of the trilogy was announced at that time for 2020, but did not arrive. According to Blanchard, the two missing parts are being written, although there are no start dates for filming.
Musical fighter
Jack Veneno also inspired composers and musical arrangers. Papi Sanchez, for example, used him as the protagonist in his video for meringue “Give Me Your Love”.
“Jack Poison’s Belt”, 1977Instead, it is a typical meringue dedicated to the Dominican fighter, recorded by Leonardo Figueroa, better known as El Negrito Figueroa.
This song says everything this fighting hero means, from his passage on Earth to his arrival in heaven and was used as a musical background during some places during his visits to the cities, with the battle panel.
“El Hombrecito” is a CD that contained the song “Jack Veneno died” in 2009. As if he wanted to become a blues spinning on a military march, “El Hombrecito” brings this image of the city, typical Santo Domingo with “Doina Tatica’s son” as the central axis.
Marel Alemany recorded “Dame lucha” in 2010. A work brings this story a love story, various TV or local music figures making cameos and masks hiding the faces of beautiful girls.
The story completes its greatness with the presence of the champion of the “little ball of the world” giving advice and waiting, who could become his successor or, in this case, successor. And I find her.
“Juidero”
Rita Indiana and Los Misterios: “El juidero” (2010) paid tribute to him. “La Montra” captivated with this video, where even a model of Joaquín Balaguer’s car makes his figure: a Lincoln Continental.
It blinks everywhere, from the artistic direction in details, to the intrigue of the same, with an essence of Dominicanness. The same thing we sometimes want to ignore, but we can’t.
Jack Veneno, who died at dawn on Tuesday, was tasked with giving us courage in the midst of juye-juye.
Whitest Taino Alive ft VFRO: “Jack Veneno” (2017). Pampered, but pampered by the yard, he apologizes to the man with the handle, contained in his musical production “Manda nuduri”.
It is a piece that exudes tigueraje, courage and has that burning verb that, if you invent many “I can get spark, spark, spark from you”.
Not bad, considering that in the childhood of several generations they aspired to be like Jack and that’s why they wanted to buy a Forty Malt in their homes, even if it tasted like rays. And no one, that is, no one of our generation, can deny that he did not throw himself on a bed with a hood in front of the reprimanding gaze of an adult.