Buena Vista Social Club

Buena Vista Social Club, 1940'larda, Havana'daki (Küba) sadece üyelere açık bir müzik kulübü.
Zaman içinde üyeleri değişmiş, ama Omara Portuondo ve Ibrahim Ferrer gibi sanatçıların katılımıyla hala çizgisinden çıkmamıştır.
1999 yılında aynı isimle bir belgeselleri yayınlanmıştır.

"I felt I had trained all my life for this experience. The best record I have ever been involved in." Ry Cooder
In March 1996 World Circuit arranged a recording trip to Havana, Cuba. In just over two weeks three albums were recorded. All three were released to great critical and public acclaim. The first release was the Afro-Cuban All Stars 'A Toda Cuba le Gusta', this was followed by 'Introducing...Rubén González'. The third album, 'Buena Vista Social Club' was released in June 1997 and has since come to be regarded as a classic, selling over 6 million copies worldwide.
Juan de Marcos González, the founder of the Afro-Cuban All Stars and Sierra Maestra, had a long cherished dream of recording the music of Cuba's golden era, the 1940s and 1950s, with the original musicians of that time. This was a dream that he shared with Nick Gold, the owner of World Circuit. Marcos was particularly keen to record the old masters together with a selection of the leading musicians from the new generation - this became the Afro-Cuban All Stars. Gold's dream project was to record a collaboration between a number of African and Cuban guitarists. He invited Ry Cooder to participate, the two having worked together before on Ali Farka Toure's Grammy Award-winning 'Talking Timbuktu' (WCD040). Cooder replied within hours saying he would be there. The Africans failed to make the trip but recording went ahead anyway, the unlikely turn in events would result in the Buena Vista Social Club.
'Buena Vista Social Club' is both the name given to this extraordinary pool of musicians and the album, recorded in just six days in Havana's 1950s vintage EGREM studios. It was clear from the atmosphere of the recording sessions that something very special was taking place. However, no one could have predicted that Buena Vista Social Club would become a worldwide phenomenon, outselling any other record in the same genre, elevating the artists to superstar status and popularising Cuba's rich musical heritage, all of which has contributed to a massive boom in Cuba's tourist and recording industries.
The Buena Vista Social Club phenomenon transformed the careers of many of the musicians involved. World Circuit have released hugely successful solo albums for Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portuondo, Cachaíto López, and Rubén González, with a debut solo album by trumpeter Guajiro Mirabal. Eliades Ochoa and Compay Segundo would also enjoy success with their individual solo careers.

Ry Cooder (producer/guitarist)
Juan De Marcos González (tres/album co-ordinator)
Eliades Ochoa (vocals/guitar)
Compay Segundo (vocals/guitar)
Amadito Valdés (timbales)
Carlos González (bongos)
Pío Leyva (vocals)
Barbarito Torres (laoud)
Manuel 'Puntillita' Licea Lamot (vocals)
Luis Barzaga (vocals)
Joachim Cooder (drums)
Julienne Oviedo Sanchez (timbales)
Alberto 'Virgilio' Valdes (maracas)