Though Americans have been allowed to visit Cuba since 2016 (though not for what they consider to be “tourist activities”), few Americans ever make this exotic trip. But all is not lost, since the Buena Vista Social Club orchestra still export their authentic brand of Cuban music to cities all over America, including Cincinnati. Ry Cooder, the veteran roots guitarist and part-time music ethnographer, embarked on a journey to the island to discover, record and celebrate Cuban music back in 1996.
The project was named after a members-only club in Havana that was formed pre-Castro. Cooder recruited old Cuban musicians from the ‘30s and ‘40s, like Ibrahim Ferrer and Ruben Gonzalez, to collaborate. This resulted in the infectious, Grammy Award-winning soundtrack and documentary, Buena Vista Social Club, the single biggest music bestseller in Cuban history.
This all-star ensemble became so successful that various members have been occasionally touring under the Orchestra moniker since then. The 2024 combo (excluding Cooder) is led by Jesus “Aguaje” Ramos, a Cuban trombonist, singer and musical director who also played in the original cast.
They play a vibrant mosaic of Afro-Cuban, bolero, cha cha cha, Latin jazz and other dynamic sub-genres of Cuban music. As Cooder proudly looks back on this project and its extraordinary legacy with Uncut magazine in 2021, he explains, “It’s like Louis Armstrong passing. The end of an era. You can’t go back. A little window opened for just a minute, and we got in there and did great things — and then the window closed.”
The Buena Vista Social Club plays Bogart’s on Oct. 29 at 8 p.m. More info: bogarts.com.
This story is featured in CityBeat’s Oct. 16 print edition.
This article appears in Oct 16-29, 2024.