‘Buena Vista Social Club’ Sequel Gets Vibrant First Trailer
Two decades after the storied music of Cuba was introduced to the world at large with the album and film Buena Vista Social Club, a sequel to the acclaimed 1999 documentary about the group will arrive this month.
Rolling Stone presents the trailer for Buena Vista Social Club: Adios, which focuses on the Cuban musicians’ history, the fruitful aftermath of the original film and the Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club’s final tour in 2016, including their historic farewell show in Havana.
Since the 1999 film’s release, many of the members of the Buena Vista Social Club – including Ibrahim Ferrer, Compay Segundo, Ruben Gonzalez and Orlando “Cachaíto” López – have died. But the sequel deftly and thoughtfully reflects on their legacy and efforts by surviving members Omara Portuondo, Manuel “Guajiro” Mirabal and Barbarito Torres to keep the group’s music alive.
“The music and the culture of Cuba are very much intertwined. So as these artists share their music, they are also sharing their incredible history. We are able to experience the last hundred years of the country’s history through their eyes,” producer Zak Kilberg said in a statement.
“Some of these musicians lived into their sixties, seventies and eighties – and nineties in Compay’s case – before finding the type of global success that they did with the Buena Vista Social Club. There is a hope and an optimism in their story that is unique and powerful.”
The Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club’s final tour also brought the group to the White House, where they performed for Barack Obama.
“For nearly two decades, this group has been a symbol of the strong bonds between the Cuban and American people. Bonds of friendship, culture and of course music,” the former president said at the time.
Buena Vista Social Club: Adios opens May 26th.