Buena Vista Social Club wows fans

The legendary Cuban band attracted more than 2000 fans to its concert in Mendoza on Wednesday.

Fans queue to see Buena Vista Social Club

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

 

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.

 

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.