Buena Vista concert in Pécs 2010
10th August 2010
The world renowned Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club® will give a concert at the Pécs Dóm Square with the magical voice Omara Portuondo at 20:00 o'clock on 10 August in the framework of the Pécs2010 European Capital of Culture Programme. Preceding the concert Norbert Csötönyi mixer champion will attempt a Guiness record by producing 5000 never before published long drinks of 5 ingredients with madler. The cocktails will be sold on special price after 16:00 and the Pécs mixer offers all the income to the Misina Animal Shelter.
The Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club band become world-known and famous with their 1997 album 'Buena Vista Social Club' that sold over 5 million copies. The club bearing the same name did not operate in the 90s any more, but in its heyday only the best musicians performed there. The producer guitarist Ry Cooder left for Havanna in 1979 to quest for the remaining musicians of the club.
The place was famous and very popular for the fact that they were open for the less wealthy Cuban public too. Some of them are also featured on the „all-stars" publication that came out in 1979 by the title Estrellas de Areito. Ry Cooder after arriving in Cuba first found the trumpet player Manuel 'Guajiro' Mirabalra, the pianist Rubén Gonzálezre and the clarion player Jesus 'Aguaje' Ramosra. The other musicians of the Buena Vista Social Club were found later by the help of Juan d'Marcos González, the leader of the Afro-Cuban All Stars band. So finally, among others, the bass player Cachaíto López, guitarists Compay Segundó and Eliades Ochoá, the lyre player Barbarito Torres, and singers Omara Portuondo and Ibrahim Ferrer joined the company again.
The fifteen musicians today - complemented by some younger talents - perform by the name Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club®, and during their 2010 tour Omara Portuondo joins them again! Omara was 15 years old when she appeared on stage first as a dancer at the Tropicana cabaret. That was where she started singing American jazz standards soaked in Cuban bossa nova. She established her own band Cuarteto Las D'Aida with her older sister and started her solo career in 1952.
When the recording of the Buena Vista Social Club songs was started in 1996 Omara also worked at the Egrem Studio. The producer Ry Cooder took the chance and asked her to sing a bolero with Compay Segundo. This song is one of the high spots of the performance and an unmissable part of the record series.