Movies like Cuba Dances (1961)
The best movies like Cuba Dances (1961) are Buena Vista Social Club (1999), Guys and Dolls (1955) and Quinceañera (2006). If Cuba Dances hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBuena Vista Social Club (1999)7.5/10 from 392 votes
- Newest27 Nights (2025)Released 2025
- In SpanishQuinceañera (2006)Also in Spanish
Buena Vista Social Club (1999)
In this fascinating Oscar-nominated documentary, American guitarist Ry Cooder brings together a group of legendary Cuban folk musicians (some in their 90s) to record a Grammy-winning CD in their native city of Havana. The result is a spectacular compilation of concert footage from the group's gigs in Amsterdam and New York City's famed Carnegie Hall, with director Wim Wenders capturing not only the music -- but also the musicians' life stories.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGuys and Dolls (1955)
In New York, a gambler is challenged to take a Salvation Army missionary to Havana, and unexpectedly they fall for each other. And the bet has a hidden motive ... classic song and dance ensues!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisQuinceañera (2006)
As Magdalena's 15th birthday approaches, her simple, blissful life is complicated by the discovery that she's pregnant. Kicked out of her house, she finds a new family with her great-granduncle and gay cousin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTracers (2015)
Wanted by the mafia, a New York City bike messenger escapes into the world of parkour after meeting a beautiful stranger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHavana Blues (2005)
When Spanish record producers express interest in Cuban musicians Ruy and Tito, the longtime friends are faced with the prospect of leaving their loved ones behind. After years of hoping and dreaming, they've finally earned the opportunity to bring their music to the rest of the world. But are the emotional trade-offs worth it in the end?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lost City (2005)
In Havana, Cuba in the late 1950's, a wealthy family, one of whose sons is a prominent nightclub owner, is caught in the violent transition from the oppressive regime of Batista to the Marxist government of Fidel Castro. Castro's regime ultimately leads the nightclub owner to flee to New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEl Cantante (2006)
The rise and fall of salsa singer, Héctor Lavoe (1946-1993), as told from the perspective of his wife Puchi, who looks back from 2002.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCadillac Records (2008)
The story of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, and the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe King of Havana (2015)
Recently escaped from reformatory, Reinaldo struggles to get by in the streets of Havana in the late 90s, one of the worst decades for Cuban society. Hopes, disillusionment, rum, good humor and above all hunger, accompany him in his wanderings, until he meets Magda and Yunisleidy, survivors like himself. In one or the other's arms, he will try to escape the material and moral misery surrounding him, living love, passion, tenderness and uninhibited sex to the limit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this27 Nights (2025)
When a woman is admitted by her daughters to a psychiatric clinic for her carefree ways, an expert must judge if she is ill or simply wants to enjoy life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHardball (2001)
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFun in Acapulco (1963)
Mike Windgren works on a boat in Acapulco, but when the bratty daughter of its owner gets him fired, Mike finds new work as a lifeguard and singer at a local hotel. Tensions increase when Mike runs afoul of the rival lifeguard—also the champion diver of Mexico.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisOlivia Rodrigo: GUTS World Tour (2024)
At a sold-out concert in her hometown of LA, Olivia Rodrigo pours her heart into an electrifying night of chart-topping hits and pop-rock power ballads.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this7 Virgins (2005)
It is summertime in a blue-collar, marginal district of a city in the South of Spain. Tano, a teenager currently serving a sentence in a juvenile reform center, is given a 48-hour leave to attend his brother’s wedding.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSweet and Lowdown (1999)
In the 1930s, jazz guitarist Emmet Ray idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChico & Rita (2010)
Chico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and romantic desire unites them, but their journey - in the tradition of the Latin ballad, the bolero - brings heartache and torment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Blue Star (2024)
The 90s. A famous Spanish rock star travels around Latin America in the endeavour to reconnect with his vocation. There he meets an old musician down on his luck, prompting the birth of an unlikely duo with every chance of becoming an epic commercial failure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisArlo the Alligator Boy (2021)
Upon learning that he is from New York City, a wide-eyed boy, who is half human and half alligator, decides to leave his sheltered life in the swamp and search for his long lost father. A musical adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 7th Day (2004)
Isabel Jimenez is a teenager witnessing a horrible feud between her own family and the Fuentes family, a feud involving broken hearts, property disputes and a mysterious fire that destroyed the Fuentes house. Isabel's uncle is murdered by Jeronimo Fuentes, who later tries to stab her father. After Jeronimo dies in jail, Isabel must look outside of her family for the truth, learning from the village idiot that her father may have set fire to the Fuentes home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cheetah Girls 2 (2006)
Best friends Galleria, Chanel, Dorinda, and Aqua, A.K.A. the girl band "The Cheetahs," get the opportunity of a lifetime when they strut their way to Barcelona, Spain, to perform in an international music festival. Along the way, the "amigas Cheetahs" learn that, although their paths are not the same, they are lucky to have one another for the journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Cuba Dances?
The closest matches to Cuba Dances are Buena Vista Social Club (1999), Guys and Dolls (1955) and Quinceañera (2006). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Cuba Dances?
Start with Buena Vista Social Club (1999), the closest match to Cuba Dances.
What is the highest-rated movie like Cuba Dances?
Buena Vista Social Club (1999), rated 7.5/10 by 392 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Cuba Dances?
27 Nights (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like Cuba Dances?
Yes: Quinceañera (2006), Havana Blues (2005) and The King of Havana (2015).
How are movies similar to Cuba Dances chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Cuba Dances, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.