Wyclef Jean - Guantanamera ft. Ms. Lauryn Hill, Celia Cruz, Jeni Fujita

What this video is

Released June 24, 1997, 'Guantanamera' was the second single from Wyclef Jean's debut solo album The Carnival (Ruffhouse/Columbia), arriving at the apex of the post-Fugees Latin-hip-hop crossover moment. The track is a reworking of the canonical Cuban folk song — itself considered Cuba's most noted patriotic song — blending salsa legend Celia Cruz's vocals with Lauryn Hill's rap verse and Wyclef's Caribbean-rooted…

Why it matters

A landmark artifact of Latin-hip-hop crossover, this video documents the formal and visual grammar through which hip-hop absorbed and celebrated Afro-Cuban and Caribbean popular music in the late 1990s. The multi-generational casting — from salsa icon Celia Cruz to then-ascendant Lauryn Hill —…

The director

USC School of Cinema-Television MFA graduate; founded production company Notorious Pictures, directing 100+ commercials and music videos for artists including The Fugees, Santana, Wyclef Jean, Sarah McLachlan, and Slipknot. Later became an Academy…