After sixteen years the Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club is bidding 'Adios' with a farewell world tour show at London's O2 Arena. The group has been touring the globe in different forms and combinations since 1997 after the release of the Grammy-winning best-selling album Buena Vista Social Club.
This final tour which started in 2014 will end where the journey began with a homecoming gala performance in Havana following this show.
Under the musical direction of band leader and trombonist Jesus "Aguaje" Ramos, the line-up for this final show features several of those who played on the original Buena Vista Social Club album and Wim Wenders film all those years ago, including singer/guitarist Eliades Ochoa, the incomparable veteran diva Omara Portuondo, trumpeter Guajiro Mirabal and laud virtuoso Barbarito Torres.
They will be accompanied on stage by those who have joined the journey along the way, including dynamic veteran tres player Papi Oviedo; Havana's young star pianist Rolando Luna; a superb rhythm section comprising double bass player Pedro Pablo and percussionists Andres Coayo (congas), Filiberto Sánchez (timbales) and Alberto 'La Noche' (bongos); a three-man trumpet section led by high note specialist Luis Alemany plus Havana's celebrated son singer Carlos Calunga and Idania Valdés.
The Buena Vista Social Club has been a phenomenon. It has helped create a bridge, a starting point to explore the island's diverse and fascinating culture, without needing to understand all the Spanish words. At the same time it has helped in defusing some of the anti-Cuban prejudices, as the warm music with its univeral themes of love and loss and the electric atmosphere of live performance pull you in. We now know there is a lot more to Cuban music than Buena Vista, but we also know this particular music is complex, living and brilliant. This is the last chance to see the show!
Date: Wednesday 6 April 2016
Venue: The O2, Peninsula Square, London SE10 0DX
For full details and how to book tickets see the venue website here
http://www.theo2.co.uk/events/detail/buena-vista-social-club
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