Even though the original social club was shut down in the 1960's, the legacy that the Buena Vista Social Club (BVSC) has on music will likely live on forever. Starting initially as a 'members only' venue, it eventually rose to fame after acting as a social hub for all musicians and performers to collaborate. The availability for artists to share ideas and play together allowed for new musical styles to be created as well as improvements to be made on existing ones. Many events were hosted at the time, located in the Marianao neighborhood. Due to new laws coming into effect following the Cuban revolution, private organizer's funds were confiscated, and the BVSC was forced to shut down.
One of the BVSC's most major accomplishments is continuing the development of everchanging music and dancing styles, including the Son which is a well-known Afro-Cuban musical style. I am personally a big fan of this style, as the mix of the brass and drums create an upbeat atmosphere. The emergence of different styles such as the salsa caused a decline in the Son style, especially after the BVSC was no longer running business.
Fortunately, the BVSC was reintroduced in the 1990's in which American artist Ry Cooder was interested in producing an album. He was fortunate to work with traditional Cuban musicians to make the album as authentic and emotional as possible. At the same time, German director Wim Wenders sought out a film that represented the BVSC, and began filming the recording sessions for the group. Both the album as well as the film produced great successes, and it was not until then that people around the world began to take notice of Cuban styles of music. Buena Vista Social Club (1997) was one of the highest-grossing Cuban music albums of all time and it went on to win a Grammy as well. In 2021, a 25th anniversary edition of the album was released in celebration of the initial album's successes, including some unreleased tracks. In addition, the documentary revolving around the BVSC, produced shortly after by Wenders, was critically acclaimed internationally, winning an Academy Award for best documentary feature in 1999.
Nick Gold, who owns the record label responsible for releasing the album, stated: “Buena Vista was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. We knew we’d made a special record but nobody could have imagined how it would take off.” I believe that anyone privileged enough to witness this performance live might think otherwise. Due to how melodic and elegant their music is, one should think that it was a fantastic opportunity for their album to take off. It was more than just a special record, as World Circuit reported in 2014 that Buena Vista Social Club more than 12 million copies globally. This makes me question: How long would it take for people to discover some of Cuba's unmatchable musical talent if Cooder had never went and produced the Buena Vista Social Club album? My guess is that it would still take some time, as Cuba was cut off from most commerce during the mid-to-late 20th century. Also, would Son Cubano be a more popular musical style today if the BVSC hadn't been shut down?
References
https://theculturetrip.com/caribbean/cuba/articles/a-musical-legacy-the-buena-vista-social-club/
https://www.buenavistasocialclub.com/story/
https://www.billboard.com/music/latin/buena-vista-social-club-album-oral-history-9646459/
Considering that Cuba is a major player in the art world with many talented artists, it is good for the art community to have a place for congregation. The Buena Vista Social Club offers artists a place to meet. It's too bad the initial rise of communism in the country led to it being shutdown for a time starting in 1960.
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