Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Buena Vista Social Club wows fans
The legendary Cuban band
attracted more than 2000 fans to its concert in Mendoza on Wednesday.
Lines snaked around the
block as people patiently queued to see what has now been rebranded as the
Oquestra Buena Vista Social Club. With half of the original members passed away
and the others in retirement, this tour sees the band led by Cuban guitarist
veteran Eliades Ochoa. The seven piece band satisfied the fans by bringing to
life Buena Vista Social club classics such as Chan Chan
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| Fans queue to see Buena Vista Social Club |
In true Cuban style, Ochoa
spoke to the audience throughout the night in Spanish telling them the stories
behind the songs, reminiscing and paying respect to gone band members such as
Compay and referring to the audience as ‘large family’. He interacted responded
to the audience’s song request including songs outside of the band’s repertoire
such as Guantanamera which succeeded in rallying the audience up into a salsa
frenzy.
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| Fans danced salsa to Buena Vista Social club classics such as Chan Chan |
While the large auditorium
was a far cry from the cigar smoke filled clubs he and his fellow musicians
used to play in during Cuba’s music pre-revolutionary hey day, Ochoa’s constant
interaction with the audience and the group of people dancing salsa up at front
did their best to recreate the atmosphere.
Buena Vista Social club
originated as a collective of veteran Cuban musicians brought together by
American guitarist Ry Cooder in an attempt to bring back to life traditional
post revolutionary Cuban music which was played in members only clubs such as
the Buena Vista Social club before it was shut down after a change in the
regime. They played during an era which saw the birth of the jazz influenced
mambo, charanga and dance forms such as the pachanga and the cha-cha-cha as
well as the continued development of the traditional Afro-Cuban styles such as
rumba and son.
The release of their album
in 1995 and an academy award winning documentary in the following year put
traditional Cuban music under the international spotlight. It has also been
responsible for a surge in tourism to the country as people travel there to
discover the old Cuba that the music emulates.
Since then many of the
original member have died including pianist Ruben Gonzalez and singer Ibrahim
Ferrer.
The band has now
transformed into a brand name with the musicians who are still alive playing in
several different bands. A number of old members have gone on to have solo
careers such as singer Omara Portuondo and drummer Amadito Valdes. Now their
world tours consist of a mixture of old and new faces who keep the genre of
music alive by reliving the classics.
Following their concert in
Mendoza then Buenos Aires, Orquestra Buena Vista Social club will go on to
performs in countries across Europe such as
Germany, Switzerland, Ireland and Netherlands.
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