Buena Vista Musicians Give First Concert in Cuba
H A V A N A, Aug. 12 -- As his gnarled hands pounded the keys of theRussian-made concert piano in the Karl Marx Theater, octogenarianRuben Gonzalez flashed a wide smile.
Gonzalez and the rest of the mostly elderly members of the BuenaVista Social Club said they were delighted to be back home to sharetheir music with their compatriots after playing to sold-outconcerts in the United States and Europe.
“In your own land, one always feels better,” said Gonzalez, asmallish man with white cropped hair and a bright orange guayaberashirt who gave his age as “83, or 84.”
“I like going over there, but I like it more here,” Gonzalezadded during the Thursday evening rehearsal for their first publicconcert in Cuba on Friday night.
Previously Unknown in Cuba As the concert got under way Friday, concertgoers said they wereexcited to see some of Cuba’s most-heralded musicians perform.
“They’re really great. We were never introduced to thismusic,” said David Cardenas, 33. “I’m so glad they are nowbringing us the music of our parents and our grandparents.”
Caridad Arrozalena, 58, said she came to see the group becauseshe had remembered some of the singers and musicians when theyfirst performed 30 or 40 years ago.
Although they have gained fame around the globe in recent yearsfor their top selling albums and the documentary Buena Vista Social Club,most of the musicians are virtually unknown in Cuba, where theirmusic has not been publicized and marketed.
International Revival The Buena Vista group is made up of once nearly-forgottenmusicians who were discovered by American guitarist and producer RyCooder in the late 1990s.
The group’s forte is the “son” — traditional Afro-Cubanorchestra music heavy in brass and percussion. They also play themore romantic, Spanish-influenced bolero and the danzon — dancemusic with an urgent telegraph-like beat.
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