Monday Mural: Cuban Musician

This mural is part of my Cuban series and is located on a building in Old Havana, Cuba.

Compay Segundo: The Buena Vista Social Club was a members club in Havana, Cuba, that closed in the 1940s, as well as a 1990's band, an album, a film and an unofficial brand name representing the musical spirit of the original Havana club. The original Buena Vista Social Club held dances and musical activities, becoming a popular location for musicians to meet and play during the 1940s. In the 1990s, nearly 50 years after the club was closed, it inspired a recording made by Cuban musician Juan de Marcos González and American guitarist Ry Cooder with traditional Cuban musicians, some of whom were veterans who had performed at the club during the height of its popularity.

The "Buena Vista Social Club" name encapsulates Cuba's "musical golden age" between the 1930s and 1950s. The new success of these newly discovered aging musicians was fleeting for the most recognizable artists in the ensemble: Compay Segudo, Rubén González, and Ibrahim Ferrer, who died at the ages of ninety-five, eighty-four, and seventy-eight respectively; Segundo and González in 2003, then Ferrer in 2005. (Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buena_Vista_Social_Club)

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I am a long-time fan of Ry Cooder so after seeing a film and hearing the elder musicians play  I immediately bought the one and only CD that these men recorded and also had the pleasure of seeing them at First Avenue when they went on tour in the US.  It was a great evening!!

Linking to Monday Mural