AGRIDULCE Documentary to Screen at New York Latino Film Festival
Filmed over five years in Cabarete, the film follows young musicians mentored by Mártires de León at Academia de Bachata.
AGRIDULCE, a coming-of-age documentary set in the Dominican Republic, follows a group of aspiring young Bachata artists as they search for answers to love and life through their music. They're mentored by Mártires de León (guitarist and musical producer for Latin icon Romeo Santos), a teacher at Academia de Bachata, the world's only school devoted to a music that has become the Dominican Republic's greatest cultural export. As generations collide, the kids struggle to reconcile the weight of the past with the lives they want to build.
From director Frank Pavich (Jodorowsky's Dune), AGRIDULCE will screen during the NYLFF (New York Latino Film Festival) on Saturday, September 19 at 4:30pm at Regal Union Square. The documentary was also an official selection and had its World Premiere at SXSW this year along with the Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG) among others.
Frank Pavich (Director) and Benjamin de Meril (Producer/Founder of Academia de Bachata) are available for interviews.
Synopsis
In the Dominican town of Cabarete, bachata is a way of life, far from the nightclubs where it's danced the world over. Filming over five years, director Frank Pavich (Jodorowsky's Dune) intimately captures the coming-of-age of a group of child musicians, showing how music guides their journey to self-discovery.
Along the way, they're mentored by Mártires de León, guitarist for Romeo Santos and a teacher at Academia de Bachata, the world's only school devoted to a music that has become the Dominican Republic's greatest cultural export. Generations collide, and the kids struggle to reconcile the weight of the past with the lives they want to build.
What Is Bachata?
Bachata is a music that originated in marginalized neighborhoods of the Dominican Republic. It combines lyrics of love and heartbreak with polyrhythmic Afro-Caribbean guitar. Bachata was once censored, but today it is popular the world over. Agridulce's subject Mártires de León is an architect of Bachata's international success. As guitarist for Latin icon Romeo Santos, Mártires has facilitated collaborations with Bad Bunny, Justin Timberlake, Julio Iglesias and Rosalía, among others.
About Academia de Bachata
The world's only school devoted to bachata, the Academia de Bachata offers more than 500 boys and girls free, intensive training in bachata and other traditional Latin American and Caribbean music. Founded in 2013, the Academia centers on a beloved Dominican tradition long absent from formal music education. Mártires de León, guitarist and arranger for bachata star Romeo Santos, helped craft its curriculum and mentors its students.
Based in Cabarete, Dominican Republic, the Academia nurtures musical development from early childhood through young adulthood. Many alumni go on to careers in music — recording and touring with bachata stars, continuing to advanced studies, or returning to the Academia as teachers.
The Academia is operated by the iASO Cultural Foundation, a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit also registered as a foundation in the Dominican Republic. In 2025, the Foundation launched Konpa Akademi, bringing free daily music classes to more than 100 children in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti.
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