A supreme interpreter of Cuban bolero and son — Ibrahim Ferrer spent decades as an overlooked Havana street musician before Ry Cooder found him shining shoes at 70 and brought him back for the Buena Vista Social Club recordings.
Ferrer was born in Santiago de Cuba and began his career in the late 1940s, working with various orchestras and developing a reputation as one of the most soulful bolero singers on the island. After the Revolution, the Cuban music industry shifted away from the traditional son and bolero formats he excelled at, and he fell into obscurity.
When Ry Cooder assembled the Buena Vista Social Club in 1996, Ferrer was working as a shoe shiner in Old Havana. His recordings on the album — particularly his duets with Omara Portuondo and his solo boleros — stunned listeners worldwide. His voice, still pure and heartbreaking in his late 60s, made him the emotional center of both the album and Wim Wenders' documentary. He released several solo albums in the years before his death, reclaiming the career that had been interrupted for 30 years.