Saturday, November 14, 2009

Los Cubanos Clasicos

Buena Vista Social Club
What happens when American guitarist Ry Cooder travels to Cuba for a collaborative effort with the country's most popular, traditional efforts? Buena Vista Social Club.

Named for an actual club in Havana from the 50s, Buena Vista Social Club received international attention for their self-titled studio album, which Rolling Stone named number 260 of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

The band consisted of musicians of varied nationalities and ages, but that did not hinder their cooperation. Basically, Cooper recruited these legends, locked them in a Cuban studio and let them recreate the traditional sounds of their homeland.

A friend of mine who doesn't speak Spanish once told me, "Buena Vista is so good, you don't need to know Spanish to enjoy it. It's the perfect driving around music." He's right, their traditional Cuban music makes anyone want to light up a Cohiba. The song "El Cuarto de Tula" can be heard in the movie Training Day.

This band is too iconic to cover in one post, so I'll be splitting up the members into a couple. It's the least I can do for Cuban musicians who recorded a Spanish equivalent of Dark Side of the Moon. So give these songs from the album a listen.


Regresa pronto!

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