Private Project

El Sabroso

This documentary is about Adel Nuñez, also known as "El Sabroso,” a tres guitar player who dedicated his life to traditional Cuban dance music called son. On August 7, 2024, at the age of 38, while I was in Cuba finishing this film, Adel died because of the absence of essential medicines in the hospital, due to the ongoing embargo that has been affecting this country for the past sixty years. In this film I explore son music and its culture by looking at it across concentric circles of relationships. The outer circle is the global route of Cuban culture (Europe- Africa- America) that impacts son and related music and dance genres. The next circle is national: the mobility of musicians like El Sabroso, who moved from the province to the capital to find better career opportunities. Next comes the urban circle, with its dynamics of periphery vs. center within Havana. The following circle is represented by the barrio, the neighborhood of Guanabacoa, where the activity of artists working with Adel takes place. Finally, the inner circle — the nucleus— is the family of Adel and and his wife Barbara, a professional son dancer, represented in their domestic space which, as Sarah Pink writes in Doing Visual Ethnography, is "a site for performing everyday life experiences and identities."

  • Pierpaolo Polzonetti
    Director
  • Pierpaolo Polzonetti
    Writer
  • Pierpaolo Polzonetti
    Producer
  • Adel Nuñez Castillo
    Key Cast
    "El Sabroso"
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Music Video
  • Runtime:
    30 minutes 12 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 1, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    20,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States, United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Cuba
  • Language:
    Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Cornell University, Music Department, Music and Sound Studies series
    Ithaca, NY
    United States
    September 19, 2025
    world premiere
  • University of California, Berkeley, UC Cuba event
    Berkeley, CA
    United States
    November 8, 2024
  • Feria del Libro de La Habana, Cuba
    La Habana
    Cuba
    February 13, 2025
    Cuban premiere
Distribution Information
  • submitted to JAVEM (Journal of Audio Visual EthnoMusicology)
    Distributor
    Country: United States
    Rights: Internet
Director Biography - Pierpaolo Polzonetti

Pierpaolo Polzonetti is a musicologist who studies music and food, opera, jazz, and Cuban popular music. He is the author of prize-winning books and articles exploring music and culture from opera, jazz, Cuban popular music, and gastromusicology (music & food). His main interest is the exploration of the intersections of sensorialities and philosophical, spiritual, and political ideas. His work has been funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Council for Learned Societies, and the Earhart Foundation. His work on Cuban music has been supported by the Cuban Research Institute (CRI), the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center, and Florida International University Libraries. "El Sabroso" is his first documentary film, made with the support of the Department of Music of the University of California, Davis.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I have been traveling to Cuba many times in the last three years to study Cuban popular music. I made this documentary during my last two trips in May and August 2024. The documentary is about an extraordinary musician, his band, and his family. I first met Adel Nuñez, known as "El Sabroso,” in La Havana three years ago. He taught me how to play the Cuban tres guitar, an iconic instrument in Son music, while I was conducting research on music and food in Cuba. Tragically, on August 7, 2024, while I was in Cuba finishing the film, Adel passed away unexpectedly at the age of 38. I found myself shedding many tears during the final stages of post-production editing. However, the film itself conveys a sense of relentless positive energy, known as Aché in Afro-Cuban belief, and celebrates the transformative power of music. It demonstrates how music can bring joy and resilience, even in the face of hardship and challenging living conditions.