[ Man ]
This is a famous photo I look...
during the October m*ssile Crisis,
outside the Hotel Riviera.
The entire Malecón was full
of antiaircraft g*ns and cannons.
We were expecting a U.S. invasion.
I took this one in 1959
in Washington.
Fidel placed a wreath
before Abraham Lincoln.
The photo's called
“David and Goliath.”
The little guy and the giant.
This is Che Guevara
and Fidel playing golf.
[ Woman] Who won?
Fidel.
- Che let him win.
- [ People Laughing ]
Ah, the Buena Vista Social Club!
[ Woman ]
Compay Segundo! Darling!
We should ask these people,
the older folks from the neighborhood.
“Where was
the Buena Vista Social Club?”
Where are the old folks?
This guy will know.
We 're looking for the social club.
- The Buena Vista?
That's long gone.
The Buena Vista was... let's see.
You go up that way.
[ Indistinct ]
It's a private house now.
- [ Woman ] It was No. 48.
- But it's not there anymore.
- We're looking for the old location.
- Sure, the building's still there.
- [ Woman ] Between 21st and 42nd.
- At 31st.
If you go up this way,
it's right there.
- You used to dance there?
- Yes. I was born around there.
It's a private house now.
You take the divided highway.
[ Man ] Ladies and gentlemen,
Compay Segundo!
Eliades Ochoa!
It's that house
with a line painted on the door.
It's been gone since 1944.
We've lived here since then.
I remember the guys
who'd throw parties at the Buena Vista.
In its day, the best bands
in Cuba played there.
Know what I eat
when I’ve had too much to drink?
Black cocoquetta soup.
Chicken consommé.
You take a piece of chicken neck
and fry it up.
When it's no longer bloody,
you toss in some chopped garlic.
I think there are still
some remains of the bar.
Anyone who eats that
will have no aches or pains.
You like mutton consommé?
It clears everything out.
[ Audience Applauding ]
♪ From Alto Cedro
I head for Marcané ♪
♪ I get to Cueto
and head for Mayarí ♪
[ Audience Applauding ]
♪ From Alto Cedro
I head for Marcané ♪
♪ I get to Cueto
and head for Mayarí ♪
♪ From Alto Cedro
I head for Marcané ♪
♪ I get to Cueto
and head for Mayarí ♪
♪♪ [ Continues ]
♪ The love I have for you ♪
♪ I cannot deny ♪
♪ My mouth is watering ♪
♪ I just can't help it ♪
♪ When Juanica and Chan Chan ♪
♪ Sifted sand together on the beach ♪
♪ The way she shook the sieve ♪
♪ Got Chan Chan all aroused ♪
♪ Clear the dry cane leaves
from the path ♪
♪ Because I want to sit down ♪
♪ On that trunk over there ♪
♪ Or I might not make it ♪
♪ From Alto Cedro
I head for Marcané ♪
♪ I get to Cueto
and head for Mayan" ♪
♪ From Alto Cedro
I head for Marcané ♪
♪ I get to Cueto
and head for Mayarí ♪
♪ From Alto Cedro
I head for Marcané ♪
♪ I get to Cueto
and head for Mayarí ♪
att*ck!
From the front.
♪ From Alto Cedro
I head for Marcané ♪
♪ I get to Cueto
and head for Mayarí ♪
♪♪ [ Ends ]
[ Audience Applauding ]
It's great, so let's enjoy it!
[ Ry Cooder ]
My son Joachim and I...
came back down here
to Havana in March 1998.
We'd been here before...
about two years ago,
recording the Buena Vista Social Club.
I've been making records
about 35 years...
and you never know
what the public's going to go for.
This turned out to be the one
they liked best. I like it the best.
One of the great things about that record
turned out to be Ibrahim Ferrer.
He'd come in off the street,
kind of like a Cuban Nat King Cole.
You stumble onto somebody like this
maybe once in your life.
We wanted to try recording with him...
make a solo record,
let him be heard.
♪ Asleep in my garden ♪
♪ The spikenards and the roses ♪
♪ The White lilies ♪
♪ And my soul ♪
♪ So very sad and sorrowful ♪
♪ It wants to hide from the flowers ♪
♪ Its bitter pain ♪
♪ I don't want the flowers to know ♪
♪ Of the torments ♪
♪ Life brings my way ♪
♪ If they knew how I’m suffering ♪
♪ They too would weep for my sorrow ♪
♪ Hush ♪
♪ For they are sleeping ♪
♪ The spikenards ♪
♪ And the lilies ♪
♪ I don't want them to know ♪
♪ Of my sorrows ♪
♪ For if they see me weeping ♪
♪ They will die ♪
[ Audience Applauding ]
♪♪ [Continues ]
♪ Hush ♪
♪ For they are sleeping ♪
♪ The spikenards ♪
♪ And the lilies ♪
♪ I don't want them to know ♪
♪ Of my sorrows ♪
♪ For if they see me weeping ♪
♪ They will die ♪
♪ For if they see me weeping ♪
♪ They will die ♪
♪ For if they see me weeping ♪
♪ They will die ♪
♪♪ [ Ends ]
[ Man ]
Omara Portuondo!
♪ [Chattanooga Choo Choo ]
♪ [ Scatting ]
I, Ibrahim Ferrer Planas...
was born in a small town
in the province of Santiago de Cuba...
called San Luis.
I'm the son of Aurelia Ferrer...
registered as her natural-born son.
I say this because...
I want everyone to hear
directly from me...
who I am and what I am.
At 12 years of age...
I lost my mother.
- ♪♪ [ Singing ]
- I'd already lost my father.
I was left an orphan...
my mother's only child.
So I had to make my way in life.
I attended school
just like my friends...
but I had to drop out...
because life back then...
wasn't like it is now.
It was harder.
I had to find my own way in life.
You need a hand?
♪♪ [ singing ]
We were just taking a break.
Rubén loves to improvise on his own,
and then I join in.
So I started singing.
“Compadre, pick up this tune.”
♪ Two gardenias for you ♪
♪ With them I mean to say
I love you, I adore you ♪
♪ My love ♪
♪ Give them your full attention ♪
♪ They'll be your heart and mine ♪
Ry Cooder heard it too.
I'd sung that number casually...
just to loosen up.
And he recorded it.
- ♪ Two gardemas for you ♪
- [ Audience Applauding ]
♪ With them I mean to say ♪
♪ I love you ♪
♪ I adore you ♪
♪ My love ♪
♪ Give them your full attention ♪
♪ They'll be your heart and mine ♪
♪ Two gardenias for you ♪
♪ With all the warmth of a kiss ♪
♪ Those kisses I gave you ♪
♪ And that you'll never find ♪
♪ In the arms of another love ♪
♪ They'll live in your presence ♪
♪ And speak to you as I do ♪
♪ You'll even believe they're saying ♪
♪ “I love you” ♪
♪ But if one evening at twilight ♪
♪ My love's gardenias should die ♪
♪ It's because they've realized ♪
♪ That you've betrayed me ♪
♪ For the love of another ♪
[ Ferrer ]
♪ It wishes to hide ♪
♪ Its bitter pain ♪
[ Portuondo ]
♪ I don't want ♪
Nice.
♪ The flowers to know ♪
♪ Of the torments ♪
- ♪ Life brings my way ♪
- Wow.
♪ If they knew how I'm suffering ♪
My name is Omara Portuondo.
I was born here in Havana...
in the area known as Cayo Hueso.
Two blocks that way?
My father was
a famous baseball player.
He was one of the first Cubans...
to play outside this country.
They took Cuban baseball to the U.S.
My mother and father...
used to relax after lunch...
and they'd sing a few duets.
And that's when my love
of Cuban music began.
For example, I started singing
La Bayamesa when I was a little girl.
My father would sing lead
and I'd sing harmony.
And the song I recorded on the album
that won a Grammy, “Veinte Afios”...
I've known that one
since I was a child too.
♪ What's it matter if I love you ♪
♪ If you don't love me anymore ♪
♪ A love now past
must not be brought to mind ♪
♪ I was the love of your life ♪
♪ Once so very long ago ♪
♪ But now I’m part of the past ♪
♪ And I just can't accept it ♪
♪ If we could have ♪
♪ Everything we wanted ♪
♪ You'd still love me the same ♪
♪ As 20 years ago ♪
♪ With such sadness we watch ♪
♪ As love fades away ♪
♪ And a part of our soul
is so heartlessly torn away ♪
♪ And a part of our soul ♪
♪ Is so heartlessly torn away ♪
- ♪♪ [ Ends ]
- [ Audience Applauding ]
JV' [ Rhythmic Guitar ]
♪ Here on the beach
how Maria enjoys herself ♪
♪ Here on the beach, Maria
how you excite me ♪
♪ Here on the beach
how Maria enjoys herself ♪
♪ Here on the beach, Maria
how you excite me ♪
[ Man ]
I was born in 1907.
On the coast, by the sea...
in Siboney.
I lived there with my father.
He drove trains
for the manganese mines.
I lived in Siboney
until I was about nine,
until my grandmother d*ed.
Then my brothers and I moved
to Santiago de Cuba.
But I couldn't leave Siboney
until my grandmother d*ed.
She told me that.
“Grandson, until I die,
you cannot leave my side.”
I used to light her cigars.
I was five years old.
She'd say, “Light me a cigar.”
And I would,
from the age of five on.
I'd hand it to Grandma,
and she'd smoke it.
So you might say...
I’ve been smoking for 85 years.
[ Audience Applauding ]
I have to work hard,
because Ry Cooder's here.
[ Audience Applauding ]
♪ In the trunk of a tree
a young girl ♪
♪ Joyfully carved her name ♪
♪ And the tree,
moved to its very soul ♪
♪ Sent a flower floating down ♪
♪ To the young girl ♪
♪ I am that tree ♪
♪ So moved and so sad ♪
♪ And you're the young girl ♪
♪ Who cut into my flesh ♪
♪ I’ll always treasure ♪
♪ Your dear name ♪
♪ But tell me ♪
♪ What have you done
with my poor flower? ♪
I learned that when I was this big.
That's it.
[ Man ]
Music is so beautiful!
My name is
Eliades Ochoa Bustamante.
I was born in Santiago de Cuba
on June 22, 1946.
My mother, Jacoba Bustamante,
played the tres.
So did my father.
We were a musical family.
I was born in the countryside...
so of course I'd hear music...
from the moment
I woke up in the morning.
Besides having music in my blood...
I heard music night and day.
In 1958, when I was
no bigger than a guitar...
I began playing all around Santiago.
In the red light district
I'd play and pass the hat:
“Support Cuban musicians.”
That's how I made some money...
which I took home
to help out my parents.
[ Audience Applauding ]
♪ Along the road by my house
a merry cart driver went by ♪
♪ His songs came from the heart ♪
♪ In his jolly way he sang ♪
♪ “I'm going to the ferry ♪
♪ To unload my cart ♪
♪ And finish another day
of my back-breaking work” ♪
♪ We ride up into the hills ♪
Hey, compay!
♪ I work without rest ♪
♪ So that I can get married ♪
♪ If I can manage that ♪
♪ I’ll be a lucky country lad ♪
[ Ochoa ]
My days of passing the hat are over.
You never forget it,
but it's in the past now.
♪ I'm a country lad and cart driver ♪
♪ And I live well on the land ♪
♪ The countryside
is the Garden of Eden ♪
♪ The loveliest in the world ♪
♪ We ride up into the hills ♪
♪ We ride up into the hills ♪
♪ We ride up into the hills ♪
♪ We ride up into the hills ♪
♪ Cultivate the hills and the plains ♪
♪ And reap the fruits of your toil ♪
♪♪ [ Continues ]
Hey, how are you?
We've been waiting ages.
You're late.
I thought maybe the cops got you.
Come on up.
Come in.
Make yourselves at home.
[ Ferrer ]
At one time, in Santiago de Cuba...
my grandfather was...
president of a French society.
It was called “El Cucuyé.”
A delegation of Africans...
came to visit him there...
and my mother really liked
one of the African women.
And when that woman left...
she gave my mother this staff.
My mother was a firm believer
in this Lazarus...
which I now have.
I firmly believe in my Lazarus too.
They call him “the beggar.”
He's a powerful figure.
He opens up paths...
and helps the destitute, you might say.
The other one's the same...
but this Lazarus is the one
I carry inside...
the one who asks for alms.
I place flowers before him.
Sometimes I light a candle to him.
I give him honey.
See?
I pour honey in here for him.
And lots of perfume.
Lots of perfume.
Every time I go out I spray him...
and myself too.
His little sh*t of rum.
I like it...
so I just assume if we like it,
he must like it too.
So he gets his little sh*t of rum.
Sometimes my wife
makes him a meringue.
You know what that is?
She makes it,
and we place it there for him.
We dedicate it to him.
So that's how he gets
all these things.
We Cubans can be thankful...
to, I don't know, the man up there
that we are the way we are.
If we cared about possessions,
we'd have vanished long ago.
But we Cubans are unique.
We're a small country...
but we're strong.
We've learned how to hold on...
through good times and bad.
♪♪ [ Flourish ]
♪♪ [ Vocalizing ]
♪♪ [ Flourish ]
♪ Cienfuegos has
its guaguancó sound ♪
♪ Today I’m filled with emotion ♪
♪ I will sing to my land ♪
♪ To that famous region ♪
♪ Known as the Pearl of the South ♪
♪ Its women are the finest ♪
♪ Radiant as the stars ♪
♪ And for the elegant way they walk ♪
♪ They're admired throughout the land ♪
♪ Cienfuegos, I carry you ♪
♪ Deep within my heart ♪
♪ That's why with special pride ♪
♪ I sing you this inspiration ♪
♪ So you see, my brother ♪
♪ Cienfuegos has
its guaguancó sound ♪
That's the ending!
That's how Juan de Marcos wanted it.
From the first note.
That's the one we need.
Thank you, thank you.
Beautiful.
Couldn't live through another one,
I know that.
[ Chuckles ]
♪♪ [ Flourish ]
♪♪ [ Ferrer Vocalizing ]
♪♪ [ Flourish ]
♪ Cienfuegos has
its guaguancó sound ♪
♪ Today I'm filled with emotion ♪
♪ I will sing to my land ♪
♪ To that famous region ♪
♪ Known as the Pearl of the South ♪
♪ Its women are the finest ♪
♪ Radiant as the stars ♪
♪ And for the elegant way they walk ♪
♪ They're admired throughout the land ♪
♪ Cienfuegos, I carry you ♪
♪ Deep within my heart ♪
♪ That's why with special pride ♪
[ Fades ]
♪♪ [ Piano ]
My name is
Rubén González y Fontanills.
I was born
in the city of Santa Clara...
in 1919.
At the age of seven
I began studying piano.
My family had bought a piano.
It was a very good one,
a John Stowers.
It was a player piano too.
It sounded wonderful.
When I saw that instrument,
I went crazy.
I really liked it.
I'd do all kinds of things on it.
So I started studying.
When my mother saw
I had the potential...
to be a great piano player...
she arranged lessons for me...
with a private teacher...
from Cienfuegos.
So I studied with her for one year...
then two, three, four...
up to eight years.
That's when she told me...
“Rubén, you're going
to be a good pianist.
You have great skill
with your hands.”
[ Ferrer ] I was forgotten.
I just stayed home.
But I wasn't going to starve.
I shined shoes,
I collected trash.
I sold coal.
I had a family to support.
I'm not ashamed to say that.
We moved
from Santa Clara to Havana.
But in the capital
I started feeling insecure.
I thought, “There are lots
of piano players in Havana!”
So I began to study...
everything I could.
It turned out that next door
there was a man...
who later came
to be known as Arsenic.
He formed a famous band.
He heard me play.
But Arsenic was blind.
He wasn't born that way.
He'd lost his eyesight
in an accident.
Anyway, one day he said to me...
“Would you like to play
in my group?”
I said, “Sure.”
His pianist had left...
and gone to Europe.
So I took his place and played
with Arsenio for four years...
and it was
a successful time for me.
People talked about how
Arsenic would get argumentative...
and they'd argue back...
and he'd get really angry.
You know what he'd do?
He'd stand like this...
and then lunge toward any voice
he heard to grab that person.
But since he was blind...
everyone would just scatter.
We'd tell each other, “Keep quiet
so he won't know I’m here!”
And he'd come at you like this.
He'd get really mad...
when people
didn't show him respect.
He was a big, strong, fat guy...
and taller than everyone else.
I'd laugh like crazy.
[ Ferrer ] I swear
I'm not gonna smoke anymore.
Honest.
Well, just a bit.
Just a little.
And no more drinking either.
I used to drink.
Man, did I ever drink!
But I’ve got my bodyguard here.
She won't let me.
This is Arsenio Rodríguez.
It's the best picture of him.
May 24, 1946.
The band toured a lot in Mexico...
and also in Venezuela.
This guy d*ed a while back.
Most of them are gone.
This guy's still alive.
He's almost 100 now.
Pascualito is his name.
He plays the timbal.
Yes, he d*ed in Spain.
Well...
I’m asking who wrote
“Como Fue”...
and it's this guy Ernesto Duarte,
but he d*ed in Spain.
You always have to ask...
“Who wrote it,
and are they still living?”
In case they may be here
or they come down, you know?
Get 'em to come down.
More people have d*ed...
but so many are left...
so we always want to try
to find those people.
They might be down the street.
They might be here. Who knows?
Might be around the corner.
You never know.
So it's 1998.
We have to do the best we can.
So we have Ibrahim in 1998.
We're very lucky.
[ Woman Translates In Spanish ]
- Thank you.
- Very, very lucky.
I just don't want to die —
At least not right now.
The man up there
and my wife over there...
ought to grant me
a bit more time to enjoy all this.
Because sometimes
you don't get time.
[ Cooder ]
That's right.
[ Compay Segundo ] As long as
I have blood in my veins...
I'm going to love women.
Because in life...
women, flowers, and romance...
are all so lovely.
One night of romance is priceless!
It's priceless.
And I haven't forgotten how yet.
I'm 90 years old...
and I have five children.
You met Salvador and Basilio.
Salvador is the youngest.
I have five...
but I’m working on the sixth.
I want one more.
Well...
see you some other time.
[ Ferrer ]
One afternoon, out of the blue...
Juan de Marcos
knocked at my door.
I was polishing some shoes.
He said, “What are you doing?”
I said, “Just shining my shoes.”
“I've been looking for you.
Come with me.”
“No, I don't want to sing anymore, “
I said.
But he said,
“Man, I need your voice.”
So I asked him,
“When? Tomorrow?”
“No, right now.”
“At least let me shower.”
“No, right now.”
He barely gave me time
to wash my face...
and wipe off a little shoe polish.
So we came here
to the EGREM studios...
where I found Eliades Ochoa.
He was here...
with Compay Segundo and the rest.
Rubén was at the piano.
When Rubén saw me...
he began playing...
♪♪ [Vocalizing Melody ]
...a number I'd made
very popular here in Cuba.
It's called “Candela,”
by Faustino Oramas, “El Guayabero.”
♪ There goes a dancing rat
having a great old time ♪
♪ While a mouse drums out a rhythm
to brighten up the day ♪
♪ A cat comes along too
so elegant and affable ♪
♪ “Good evening, friend”
he says to the drummer ♪
So I started singing the number.
And Ry was in the booth.
It seems he had his eye on me.
He heard me...
and decided to record the song.
I thought, “Okay, no problem.”
So we recorded it.
That's when I got back
to doing my thing.
♪ Fire, fire! I’m burning up! ♪
♪ Faustino Oramas and friends,
put this fire out for me! ♪
♪ Just dial seven zeros
and the firemen will be right here ♪
♪♪ [ Fades ]
♪♪ [ Bass ]
My name is Orlando López,
"Cachaíto."
I'd like to tell you a bit
about how I became a musician.
I started playing when I was nine.
At 11 years old, I joined an orchestra
led by my aunt, Coralia López.
My uncle and my great-grandfather
were both bassists.
I was going to study violin...
but my grandfather said,
“No, it has to be bass.”
It was one of those things.
I was a little afraid of the bass...
but it just took
getting familiar with it.
My way of playing
is to get very focused.
I like music so much.
I've studied classical music,
every genre.
And I feel... I don't know.
For me playing music
is like a game.
I played in lots of orchestras
back then...
and that's how I met Rubén.
I'd played with a lot of pianists,
but never Rubén.
Now it turns out
we make a great pair.
My great strength
is that I have a good ear.
I can also sight-read very quickly.
So before he plays a note,
I already have that note in mind.
[ Audience Applauding ]
Chanchullo!
♪ Chanchullo! Let's dance! ♪
♪ Chanchullo!
Let's have a good time! ♪
♪ Chanchullo! Let's dance! ♪
♪ Chanchullo!
Let's have a good time! ♪
Amadito Valdés!
He's a wild man!
Go!
[ Audience Applauding ]
[ Ferrer ]
Chanchullo!
- ♪♪ [ Ends ]
- [ Audience Applauding ]
My name's Amadito Valdés.
I'm a percussionist.
I use my father's name,
since he was my main motivation...
in going down this path.
In the field of percussion...
the timbal
is a very limited instrument.
So anyone who plays it
must be aware of that...
and really use their imagination...
with this instrument
that's so limited...
in its physical design,
you might say.
It's a very modest instrument...
but one that lends a lovely color...
to popular dance music.
♪♪ [ Trumpet ]
My name is
Manuel Mirabal Vázquez...
better known as "El Guajiro."
I began playing at age 18...
so I've been playing trumpet
for 47 years.
It's been quite an experience
playing with all these guys.
If it hadn't been for Buena Vista —
All these folks
were basically forgotten.
If it weren't for Buena Vista,
no one would remember Ibrahim...
or Rubén, or Compay Segundo.
To see Compay at 90
playing the tres so well...
and Rubén
playing the piano so well —
I think that's a key to the success...
of these recordings
by these groups.
♪ Fire, fire! I'm burning up! ♪
[ Audience Applauding ]
♪ Fire, fire! I’m burning up! ♪
Barbarito!
My name is
Bárbaro Alberto Torres Delgado.
In musical circles I'm known
as “Barbarito Torres.”
I've played the music
of the Cuban countryside...
since I was ten years old.
I play the lute,
which is Arabic in origin.
The Moors took it to Spain...
where it underwent
its first metamorphosis.
There they made a lute
with a longer neck...
a little larger
than the one used here.
Medieval troubadours
brought it to Cuba...
where it underwent
its second metamorphosis.
That resulted in the Cuban lute,
the one I play.
♪♪ [ Lute ]
♪ Tula's bedroom
has gone up in flames ♪
♪ She fell asleep
and didn't put out the candle ♪
♪ Get the firemen here quick ♪
♪ And bring lots of hoses ♪
♪ Tula's bedroom
has gone up in flames ♪
♪ Tula's bedroom
has gone up in flames ♪
♪ She fell asleep
and didn't put out the candle ♪
♪♪ [ Singing Continues ]
♪ Tula's bedroom
has gone up in flames ♪
♪ She fell asleep
and didn't put out the candle ♪
♪ Tell Compay to hurry
and bring his hose ♪
♪ Tula's bedroom
has gone up in flames ♪
♪ Tula's bedroom
has gone up in flames ♪
♪ She fell asleep
and didn't put out the candle ♪
♪♪ [ Vocalizing ]
♪ Tula's bedroom
has gone up in flames ♪
♪ She fell asleep
and didn't put out the candle ♪
♪ Tula's bedroom
has gone up in flames ♪
♪ She fell asleep
and didn't put out the candle ♪
Ladies and gentlemen, from
Matanzas, Cuba: Barbarito Torres.
Barbarito's on the loose!
- He's crazy!
- [ Audience Applauding ]
Lock him away!
[ Audience Cheering ]
[ Audience Applauding ]
♪ Tula's bedroom
has gone up in flames ♪
♪ She fell asleep
and didn't put out the candle ♪
♪ Fire, fire! ♪
♪ I’m burning up! ♪
♪ Tula's bedroom
has gone up in flames ♪
♪ Tula's bedroom
has gone up in flames ♪
♪ She fell asleep ♪
♪ And didn't put out ♪
♪ The candle ♪
- ♪ [ Ends ]
- [ Audience Applauding ]
[ Man ] I'm Pío Leyva...
“the Cuban highlander.”
[ Man #2 ]
I'm Manuel Licea, “Puntillita.”
I’ll trounce you good!
A blank!
I win!
I'm the greatest!
I tell you,
you can't b*at me, Puntillita.
At dominoes, I’m number one.
You may be the best singer,
but at dominoes, I’m the best.
- Shall we go join them?
- Wait till they call us.
[ Man ]
Puntillita! Pío! Come on!
Jeez!
Just when I’m thrashing this guy,
I have to go to the studio!
- It's 3-2.
- We'll continue this later.
Let's see how the recordings going.
- You can't play with me.
- Give me a chance!
- What chance!
- Don't get ugly about it.
[ Man ]
I 'm particularly happy...
to have been involved
in coordinating this project.
It's brought together
all the great names in Cuban music...
who sadly had been
practically forgotten here.
People like Rubén González,
whom I consider...
one of the three greatest
son piano players of all time.
Ibrahim Ferrer, one of the greatest
Cuban singers ever...
who had sadly also been
forgotten for over ten years.
And other people,
like Puntillita, Pío Leyva...
Compay Segundo, Eliades Ochoa.
As an artistic undertaking...
this album will have
an enormous impact on Cuban music.
One, two, one, two, three.
♪ The dancers are coming ♪
♪ And the roads are jammed ♪
♪♪ [ Singing Continues ]
Perfect. Perfecto. Bueno.
Barbarito!
♪♪ [Sings Note ]
♪♪ [ Plays Same Note ]
Recording, please.
♪ There's a party
at the cabin of Don Ramón ♪
♪ There's a party
at the cabin of Don Ramón ♪
♪ The pig is on the spit ♪
♪ The locals are on their way ♪
♪ They're gonna bring the house down ♪
♪ For Don Ramón's birthday ♪
♪ The dancers are coming ♪
♪ And the roads are jammed ♪
♪ The dancers are coming ♪
♪ And the roads are jammed ♪
♪ The bongos
the tiple, and the güiro ♪
♪ All play nonstop ♪
♪ The bongos
the tiple, and the güiro ♪
♪ All play nonstop ♪
♪ Because that's how
these country folk are ♪
♪ They have no particular time
to call it a day ♪
♪ It's been a custom
in the countryside ♪
♪ Since colonial times ♪
♪ The dancers are coming ♪
♪ And the roads are jammed ♪
♪ The dancers are coming
and the roads — ♪
[Joachim Cooder ]
For what I do — percussion —
Cuba is the mecca.
Here there's nothing but pure...
musical energy.
The udu drum, which makes
the "goomp, goomp" sound —
They all got a big kick
out of it last time...
for Buena Vista Social Club.
They all would laugh and
they'd see me — “Ah, goomp, goomp.”
I became the guy
with the funny sounds.
It's not anything obvious,
'cause it fills a pocket...
that so much of the percussion
is going around —
The “one” of each bar —
That they usually leave out.
It adds to what I know
Ry kind of has in mind —
A strange departure...
in a bizarre band
that never existed...
back in the '60s or something.
Puntillita took sort of an interest
in teaching me stuff...
and everyone's a percussionist.
And it's almost those
who aren't percussionists...
that are the best percussionists.
They're the ones
who have that light touch...
that's so hard to find.
There's no kind of learning
like the kind of learning...
you get from the guys here.
It's so subtle and quiet...
and so powerful
at the same time.
♪♪ [ Ballad ]
[ Ferrer ] ♪ Your kisses rained down
in a tempest of love ♪
♪ An unquenchable desire ♪
♪ To join our lives in love ♪
♪ Yet in spite of it all ♪
♪ Your departure was my downfall ♪
♪ And put an end to all my dreams ♪
♪ And they won't be revived ♪
♪ Unless that day returns ♪
♪ That day ♪
♪ Of our last encounter ♪
♪ Of love ♪
♪♪ [ Continues ]
[ Ry Cooder ]
How did this all get started?
My friend Nick Gold
of World Circuit Records in London...
called me up and asked
if I'd join him in Cuba...
make a record of Cuban music
with some campesino musicians...
and some West African players...
which sounded like a great idea
that had never been tried.
I said, “Sure.”
My wife and I had been
in Havana in the '70s...
kind of poking around
and searching around...
for this son music from a tape
a friend had given us.
It had some
of the most incredible playing...
and some
of the most beautiful songs.
I had never heard anything like it.
So we got on a boat
and went down there...
and snuck around
and searched around...
and actually got to hear
some good old-timers...
but I didn't know what to do
about it in those days.
I didn't know how to proceed
or anything, so we came back home.
Been thinking about it ever since.
So we got down this time...
and Nick picked us up
at the airport and said...
“The Africans couldn't make it.
They got hung up in Paris.
What are we going to do here?”
So we figured we'd just go ahead
with whoever we could find.
And we started asking around...
and Juan de Marcos
helped us out...
and pretty soon we had
a room full of people...
including Compay Segundo
and Eliades Ochoa...
Ibrahim Ferrer, Amadito Valdés...
Pío Leyva, Puntillita...
and Rubén, Cachao.
And Barbarito Torres,
who is the laúd player.
Turned out it was him on the tape
I'd had all these years...
that lured me down there
in the first place.
These are people I'd heard
on records over the years.
Had no idea
if they were living or dead.
Rubén González
hadn't even had a piano in ten years.
Hadn't really been playing. He told us
he had arthritis and couldn't play.
Of course, that wasn't true.
This is an example of the luck
and good fortune you have to have -
to find out
that so many of these people...
were still alive and well,
although forgotten...
happy to play,
very generous and openhearted...
with their talent
and their knowledge.
It was a fantastic experience.
It was the kind of thing I feel...
that might be fair to say
I've trained for my whole life.
It's something very rare.
Like I tell Joachim...
“This might just happen to you
once in your life.”
Flying back to Los Angeles,
I started thinking...
what a great thing it'd be
to get everybody together...
and do a show someplace.
By that time, the record
had gotten so popular...
that these guys
were all really busy.
The only place We could get
everybody together was Amsterdam...
at the Carré Theater -
two nights in April.
Everybody knows
Carnegie Hall's the place to go.
The Cubans kept asking me,
“When are we going to New York?
When are we going
to Carnegie Hall?”
I actually never thought it'd happen.
But a lot of people worked hard
and tried really hard.
And on July 1, we were there.
♪♪ [ Salsa ]
♪ I want to dance at the beach ♪
♪ Because the African's
asked me out on a spree ♪
[ No Audible Dialogue ]
♪ On the beach I walk along ♪
♪ Omara helps me with a song ♪
[ Ry Cooder ]
It was a great night.
They loved it. I loved it.
Everybody just went crazy.
But that would be the last show
for the Buena Vista Social Club.
♪ Let me hear you play it ♪
♪♪ [ Repeating Refrain ]
♪ Whenever I ask you ♪
♪ How, when, and where ♪
♪ You always answer ♪
♪ “Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps” ♪
♪ “Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps” ♪
♪ “Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps” ♪
[ Audience Applauding ]
[ No Audible Dialogue ]
[ People Chattering ]
[ No Audible Dialogue ]
Look at that beautiful building!
- A marvel.
- It's enormous!
It's extraordinary.
- These avenues are so beautiful.
- Just imagine!
This is really great.
Really beautiful.
[ No Audible Dialogue ]
Are you calling Cuba?
There's so much hustle and bustle.
Look at the g*n that guy has.
- Don't sh**t!
- Look there.
All the greats are there.
All the greats.
There's Charlie Chaplin.
- Remember Laurel and Hardy?
- The fat guy and the skinny guy!
And look here.
One of the most famous
trumpet players.
Who's this guy?
Who was the greatest
trumpet player ever?
The one who used to play
out under the stars...
and played the highest note
ever at that time.
This guy was blind, remember?
A great piano player.
And look who else is here.
It says right here.
They're all here.
- Who's the one in the middle?
- With the saxophone?
No, next to him.
Let's see if I can remember.
I can't remember...
but he was
one of the great leaders.
This is the life!
[ Ochoa ] This is so beautiful!
You can see everything.
[ González ]
My plane flew in right along there.
There's a plane taking off now.
So they must fly in
from this direction.
- But not right over this building.
- Let's go.
[ Audience Applauding ]
[ Man On P.A. ]
Ladies and gentlemen, Rubén González!
[ No Audible Dialogue ]
[ González ]
Where's the Statue of Liberty?
[ Ochoa ] Over there.
With the big point on top.
Near those two towers there.
You saw it when we came in yesterday.
- Near that tower over there?
- No, this one over here.
That can't be the statue.
It's all by itself,
on the tip of an island.
It's like that tiny one down there,
but much bigger.
I thought the Statue of Liberty
had a crown.
You can't make out
the crown from here.
You'd have to look
through the viewer.
You can't see the crown from here.
Yeah, you'd have to get closer.
But we know it's in that direction.
That we do know.
Let's move into the sun.
You want sun? Let's go.
- Have you ever been here before?
- Yes, many years ago.
- Up here?
- Up here?
- Who were you with?
- No, not up here.
I went to the statue,
and we looked down -
Who'd you go with?
Some tourists.
- That was in the 1920s, you said?
- I don't know the year.
I was about 30, and I’m 80 now.
[ Audience Applauding ]
- ♪♪ [ Ends ]
- [Audience App/aud/ng ]
♪♪ [ Piano ]
[ Audience Applauding ]
[ indistinct Conversations ]
[Chattering, Laughing ]
I want you to know
this is the first time...
that I find myself
in New York, in the U.S.
I’ve always longed...
to see this city.
I’m not an American,
and I can't speak English...
but I think I’ll start learning
a few words...
so that I can hold my own.
[ Chattering ]
I wish I could bring my wife
and a few of my kids to see this.
So they could see
how beautiful it is.
This is just beautiful.
Look, Radio City.
At least I’m getting to see it.
I'm so happy to see all this.
I could never have imagined.
It's so beautiful.
I’m really happy.
[ Ferrer ]
About two years ago...
I decided to retire.
I didn't want to sing anymore.
I was disillusioned.
I'd been through so much.
You know how life is.
I thought, “I'm bored of singing.
I'm not earning anything.”
♪ I’m burning up! ♪
♪ The fire's burning me ♪
♪ I want to go on
having a good time ♪
♪ I want a little something
without having to work for it ♪
♪ I want a little something
without having to work for it ♪
♪ It's above the knees
and below the waist ♪
♪ Mama, I’m goin' crazy ♪
♪ The fire's burning me up ♪
♪ I want this good time to go on ♪
♪ I don't want to be b*rned up ♪
♪ I want to go on living ♪
♪ I don't want to die tonight ♪
♪ Mama, I’m burning up! ♪
♪♪ [Singing Continues ]
♪♪ [ Ends ]
[ Audience Applauding ]
Thank you!
Thank you, family!
Thank you, thank you!
Thank you!
[ Audience Applauding, Cheering ]
[ Ferrer ] I tell you,
my staff is like my mother.
I’ve carried this staff for 58 years.
That's how long I’ve had it.
Since my mother d*ed.
♪ From Alto Cedro
I head for Marcané ♪
♪ I get to Cueto
and head for Mayarí ♪
THIS REVOLUTION IS ETERNAL
♪♪ [ Continues ]
WE BELIEVE IN DREAMS
♪♪ [ Continues ]
[ No Audible Dialogue ]
[ Audience Applauding ]
♪ From Alto Cedro
I head for Marcané ♪
♪ I get to Cueto
and head for Mayarí ♪
Ladies and gentlemen,
thank you for coming tonight.
On the laúd, Bárbaro Torres.
One of the top singers
in Cuba...
Manuel Licea,
“Puntillita.”
Ladies and gentlemen,
Compay Segundo!
Señoras y señores,
Ibrahim Ferrer!
Ladies and gentlemen,
Eliades Ochoa!
Top singer Pío Leyva!
Ladies and gentlemen,
Rubén González!
Ladies and gentlemen,
Cachao López!
Listen, the lady
of the golden voice...
Omara Portuondo!
And playing the timbal,
Amadito Valdés.
And Guajiro Mirabal.
Ladies and gentlemen,
playing the drums...
Joachim Cooder!
Ladies and gentlemen,
my partner...
and my brother, Ry Cooder!
Thank you very much
for coming tonight.
Our conductor:
my friend, Marcos González.
Juan de Marcos.
♪ From Alto Cedro
I head for Marcané ♪
♪ I get to Cueto
and head for Mayarí ♪
♪ From Alto Cedro
I head for Marcané ♪
♪ I get to Cueto
and head for Mayarí ♪
♪ From Alto Cedro
I head for Marcané ♪
♪ I get to Cueto
and head for Mayarí ♪
♪♪ [ Ends ]
Buena Vista Social Club (1999)
Moderator: Maskath3