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Cuban band Buena Vista Social Club Tours Europe
The band is made up by 13 musicians, among them bassist "Cachaito" López and trumpeter Manuel "Guajiro" Mirabal, both in their 70s and survivors of the original group that under Cubas EGREM label recorded in 1996 the album that would win a Grammy in the Tropical Music category the following year. Talented 26 year-old singer Idania Valdes, who joined BVSC six years ago, is one of the bands new acquisitions, Granma newspaper reported.

BVSC founder and lute player Barbarito Torres, 53, told AFP that London is the cradle of this musical project, and that Great Britain is the nation where the band has performed the most. And we should recognize that it was Cuban Juan de Marcos González who came up with this idea in Havana, which later on received support from US guitarist Ry Cooder (World Circuit Records) and English producer Nick Gold.

Another success of BVSC came three years later, when notable German film-maker Win Wenders made a documentary named after the group, which was nominated for an Oscar award in 2000.

Brilliant drummer Amadito Valdes told the press: "Theres great expectation for these concerts and someone told me that tickets are sold out. Its incredible that, 11 years after the beginning of our first international tours, a single country, like Great Britain, schedules 32 concerts for us. Its really amazing."

During this tour there will be, of course, moments of nostalgia. Stars like Compay Segundo, Rubén González, Ibrahim Ferrer, and Pio Leyva wont be present (Compay and Rubén died in 2003, and Ibrahim and Pío in 2005 and 2006), but the band has not lost the slightest bit of its authenticity.

Recently, Argentinas La Razón newspaper commented: "This reissue of Buena Vista Social Club "the album that was a landmark in Cuban music and that is back at record stores on the Random Records label", is good news."

But the reissue is double, since its accompanied by Buena Vista Social Club presents Ibrahim Ferrer "the first CD of this talented musician as a soloist. "Im satisfied with my name appearing on the cover," said Ferrer at the time.

(ACN)

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