Photo courtesy of Diego Gannaro via Unsplash
We are in the middle of a hot, dry, and hazy summer here in Minnesota. When my energy is low I like to find music that picks me up. Oftentimes I turn to the album Buena Vista Social Club. The piano is featured heavily throughout the recording, but really shines in Pueblo Nuevo, thanks to Rubén González.
The Original Buena Vista Social Club
The Buena Vista Social Club was a members only club in the densely populated Buenavista quarter in Havana, Cuba. It served as a social hub for musicians and performers and regularly hosted dances and musical performances. At the time, Cuban society was organized around groups whose membership was determined by ethnicity and interest. The club’s heyday spanned the 1930-60’s and encouraged the development of traditional Afro-Cuban musical styles such as the son and danzón, both derived from the rumba. Pianist Rueben González states that it was "an era of real musical life in Cuba, when there was very little money to earn, but everyone played because they really wanted to.” Shortly after the Cuban Revolution in 1959, organizations like these began to disappear due to their perceived hedonistic behavior and cultural expression as Cuba tried to create a classless and colorblind society. Favor was given to politically charged music and the Buena Vista Social Club closed.
Buena Vista Social Club-The Album
In 1996 British producer Nick Gold invited American musician and producer Ry Cooder to Havana to record a collaboration between African musicians from Mali and their Cuban counterparts. The performers from Mali had troubles with their visa, so Cooder decided to record the Cuban musicians and focused on the music made popular during the era of the Buena Vista Social Club. Many of the performers on the album were in their prime during this time and became known as the Grandfathers of Cuban music. They include Compay Segundo, Rubén González, Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Poruondo, and Jesus Ramos. The album was released in September, 1997 and soon became a huge hit. It sold more than one million copies and won a Grammy award in 1998. In 2003 it was listed by Rolling Stone magazine as #260 in The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and is the most successful Cuban album of all time.
Pianist Rueben Gonzalez
Rubén González (1919-2003) was born in Santa Clara, Cuba and was one of the founders of the modern style of Cuban piano playing. Throughout his career he played with some of Cuba’s most successful musical groups. González grew up wanting to be a doctor and to keep music as a hobby, but after years of study dropped medicine because music was “in his blood." His performing career took him all over Central and South America.
Roy Cooder states,"González is the greatest piano soloist I have ever heard in my entire life- A Cuban cross between Thelonious Monk and Felix the Cat."
Pueblo Nuevo
Pueblo Nuevo is a danzón composed by Cuban bassist Israel López. A danzón is a slower version of the son, or modified rumba. The rumba blends Congolese-style percussion and Andalusian-style flamenco soul-baring singing to create one of Cuba's defining sounds. Cuban rumba laid the foundation for many other distinct styles of Latin music, and even influenced modern Latin hip-hop and salsa. Pueblo Nuevo was first recorded in 1946 and appears in other recordings before Rubén González brought it to a larger audience with the Buena Vista Social Club.
For Further Information
Buena Vista Social Club Website:
https://www.buenavistasocialclub.com/
NY Times Article referencing cultural impact:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/16/arts/music/buena-vista-social-club-anniversary.html
Buena Vista Social Club Documentary:
PBS presents Buena Vista Social Club:
https://www.pbs.org/buenavista/film/index.html
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