Buena Vista Social Club (1999) - doc

Directed by Wim Wenders, this is perhaps the most famous Cuban music documentary ever made. It follows Ry Cooder's reunion of forgotten Cuban musical masters — son, bolero, and danzón veterans in their 70s and 80s — through recording sessions in Havana and performances in Amsterdam and New York.

What It Covers

In 1996, American guitarist Ry Cooder traveled to Havana and brought together a group of veteran Cuban musicians who had been largely forgotten since the Revolution closed Cuba off from the world. Ibrahim Ferrer, Compay Segundo, Rubén González, Omara Portuondo, and others recorded an album that became a global phenomenon. Wenders' film documents the sessions and the subsequent concert tour, capturing the musicians' personalities as much as their playing.

Why Dancers Should Watch It

The music these musicians play — son, danzón, bolero, guajira — is the deep foundation beneath everything in Cuban popular dance. Watching Rubén González play piano or Compay Segundo sing, you're hearing the rhythmic and harmonic vocabulary that casino and timba"> timba are built on. The film is also simply one of the most beautiful documents of musical mastery ever put on film — a reminder of what decades of living inside a tradition produces.

Trailer