Have you ever heard (or heard of...) the Buena Vista Social Club? Co-worker Ken and I were chatting at work the other day and he mentioned that he's going to see a concert this summer. He was very excited about it.
So, I asked him, "why so excited?"
And he said, "The Buena Vista Social Club is coming!"
"Who's that?" I asked.
Ken not only told me who they were but loaned me out one of his prized possessions--the concert documentary of the group.
And it's amazing!
A man had an idea of finding some of the musicians that entertained the world in Pre-Castro Cuba. The movie is the story of how he gathered those surviving musicians in 1999 and put on a concert in Amsterdam. They then put on a concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The documentary focused not only on the music, but also on the men and women of the band. Each member of the band was highlighted with a backstory of how they came to become a musician and what life was like "back in the day." The panned scenes showing the streets of Cuba were fascinating! It showed people hanging out on city streets, young ballerinas practicing in a dance hall while one of the band members played the piano, and example after example of classic cars.
But one thing that really impressed me was the singers. After all those years, they still sounded great! It's been over fifteen years since the film was made and unfortunately, many of the musicians are no longer with us. Co-worker Ken is still stoked about the concert this summer because many of those in the video will be there. If you like Latin music, you'll love this video. If you've never heard of The Buena Vista Social Club, you should.
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