Above: Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club
By the Caribbean Journal staff
The original grouping of the world-famous Buena Vista Social Club can no longer play together.
But while Cuban legends Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer and Ruben Gonzalez are no longer with us, the Social Club has found a rebirth of its own.
Today, the 15-member “Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club” keeps the original spirit alive, with a plan to tour the US beginning in September.
Buena Vista Social Club, a group of aging Cuban music legends, rose to fame thanks in 1997 thanks to a new album and a documentary film by director Wim Wenders. The group played just two concerts: one at Carnegie Hall in New York and another at the Carre Theatre in Amsterdam.
The new band includes several original BVSC members, including Guajiro Mirabal, Barbarito Torres, Jesus Ramos, Omara Portuondo and Eliades Ochoa.
A Cuban pianist, Roberto Fonseca, will open for the group during the tour.
The tour begins in September in Tokyo.
This week, Cuba’s government said the group would also be conducting its first national tour of Cuba in January.