The Cast of Buena Vista Social Club: Tiny Desk Concert

By Felix Contreras

Published May 27, 2025 at 5:00 AM EDT

Based on real-life events and people, Buena Vista Social Club features many characters and lots of great Cuban music. It takes such skill to reflect music of a bygone era, even more to sound fresh and vibrant night after night for months at a time. Scaled down for the Tiny Desk, the show is no less magical.

Before it was a Broadway musical racking up Tony Award nominations, the Buena Vista Social Club was a second chance. After the Cuban Revolution, many of the country's beloved musicians were lost to time, but in 1996, an ensemble was formed to reclaim their spotlight. To tell their story, the musical goes back and forth between the 1940s and the recording sessions that produced a masterpiece.

After the band warms up the Tiny Desk crowd with "El Cuarto de Tula," we meet young versions of the central characters: Compay Segundo (Da'Von Moody), Ibrahim Ferrer (Wesley Wray) and Omara Portuondo (Isa Antonetti) — their harmonies shine together on "La Negra Tomasa." Antonetti takes on the bolero-son standard "Lágrimas Negras." We also meet the older version of Ferrer, played by Mel Semé, for "Candela." Marco Ramirez, who wrote the book for Buena Vista Social Club, is our emcee for this performance, guiding us through the story.

The secret sauce is, of course, the music. These are the foundational building blocks of what has made Cuban music so popular before and after the revolution in 1959. Some of the best musicians in NYC who have experience with classic Cuban music are in this production. Buena Vista Social Club is a living, breathing and deeply grooving homage to the era, the music and the island.

SET LIST