Ana de Armas was not the only Cuban to leave her mark in Sin tiempo para morir (No Time to Die, 2021). The Havana-born singer Jenn All —stage name of Jennifer Almeida Vidal— also appears on screen during the famous sequence of the film set in Cuba.
Jenn is dressed in red as the vocalist of the band that livens up the party for Spectre held in Santiago de Cuba. Moreover, her voice is what you hear performing the remix of the song "¿Dónde estabas tú?".
The story of how she got there, which the artist recounted in a Facebook video on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the film's release, blends urgency, chance, and a firm refusal that nearly cost her the role.
The production was filming the last remaining scene and was, according to Jenn All, "at the edge of the budget" when they decided to include a live band of Cuban musicians at the last minute. The problem was that they couldn't find a Cuban singer in London. It was the musician Frank Chino Mayea who provided the contact after having played together, and the band's musical director, René Álvarez, insisted that the performer had to be Cuban, not just Latina.
"They call me, but they don't tell me which movie it is. They do the most urgent video audition of my life, and at one point, they ask me if I could lend my voice for someone else to dub it," the artist recounted.
Her response was decisive. “I finally insist on being told which movie it is, and they tell me James Bond; it's a great opportunity. I'm sorry, but no one is going to dub my voice. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for the opportunity. I hang up the phone and I feel completely at ease,” she recounted.
The calm didn't last long. Shortly after, they called her again to confirm that not only would she record her voice, but she would also appear on screen. "And there you see me. I'm the one in the red dress!" she exclaimed in the video while showing the scene.
The recording of his voice took place at the legendary Abbey Road Studios—where the Beatles recorded much of their work—and the scene was filmed at Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom, where the production recreated Santiago de Cuba in its backlot. Some exterior shots were filmed in Jamaica, in Port Antonio and Kingston Harbour.
The initial composer of the film, Dan Romer, was the one who produced the original recording with Jenn All in October 2019, before leaving the project due to creative differences. Hans Zimmer, his successor, took that recording and remixed it for the final version that hit theaters. "The latter did the remix with our recording produced by Dan Romer. Thank you, Dan, for your beautiful words about my voice," wrote the singer.
Jenn All was born in Havana on June 21, 1987. She trained at the Higher Institute of Art in Cuba and emigrated to Spain in 2014, where she relaunched her career. Before making her international debut, she worked as an actress and presenter on Cuban television. Her participation in the 25th installment of the Bond saga marked another Cuban presence in the production, alongside Ana de Armas, even though her role has gone relatively unnoticed over the past five years.
"The song is a remix of Where Were You? and the voice you hear in the background is mine. Jenn All," the artist concluded, thus asserting her involvement in the film.
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