Historical ‘Buena Vista Social Club’ Musical Brings Cuban Music To Life On Broadway

The energetic Broadway musical Buena Vista Social Club, which opened on Wednesday night, has been praised for its representation of the rich cultural history of Cuban music.

The name “Buena Vista Social Club” now has five references associated with it, as it has been the title of a famous gathering space, a band, an album, a film, and most recently, a musical.

A members-only gathering hall in Havana, Cuba, which opened in the 1930s, the Buena Vista Social Club was known to be a favorite Afro-Cuban music venue for dancing. The club was particularly known for hosting many highly-regarded Cuban musicians over the years, such as Ibrahim Ferrer, Compay Segundo, Omar Portuondo and Rubén González, who all serve as central characters in the musical.

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The Buena Vista Social Club gathering hall closed in 1959, and – although Cuban music has been highly influential throughout history – many of the artists featured in the musical were largely forgotten. It wasn’t until they joined forces in the ‘90s to record the Buena Vista Social Club album (under the same band name) that they revived their following, achieving worldwide success. The album was released in 1997 and was shortly followed by a documentary of the same name in 1999. The film was nominated for a 2000 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, and in 2020 it was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry.

The album, which features 14 tracks, was a smooth combination of many Cuban music styles, including mambo, bolero, son and Jazz. Favorite songs from the collection include “Dos Gardenias” and “Candela.” The album won a 1998 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album, and as of 2020 has sold eight million copies.

The musical Buena Vista Social Club was developed and directed by Saheem Ali and had its world premiere in December 2023 off-Broadway with Atlantic Theater Company. It transferred to Broadway in 2025 and open on March 19.

The story stays close to characters Gonzalez, Portuondo, Ferrer and Segundo, frequently flashing back to the artists’ younger days four decades earlier when they were navigating the impact of the Cuban Revolution. As the musicians struggle through politics and personal relationships, they eventually band together to create the acclaimed album.

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A tribute to the rich history of Cuban dance music, the score is performed entirely in Spanish and the singers in the cast are accompanied by a full band on stage.

Buena Vista Social Club has been nominated for seven Lucille Lortel Awards, three Outer Critics Circle Awards and two Drama League Awards off-Broadway.

Buena Vista Social Club is now playing at Broadway’s Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre.

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