Afro-Cuban All Stars

Date/Time:Sat., April 11, 8:00pm

Price: $35-75

Contact Info: 305-949-6722 | Event Website

They’re All Stars

BY ERNEST BARTELDES

Afro-Cuban All Stars bandleader Juan de Marcos was one of the key musicians in Buena Vista Social Club, the highly successful project put together by American guitarist Ry Cooder more than a decade ago, which prompted a film and a sold-out gig at New York City's Carnegie Hall that was recently released on CD. This is the first time in five years that de Marcos is playing in the United States, owing to restrictions imposed by the Bush administration that have prevented Cuban musicians who live on the island to perform here. “Right now I hope that Obama will change the policy towards Cuban musicians,” he says over the phone from Mexico City. “Because in fact, music is music and it's nothing related to politics.”

For this tour, de Marcos has put together a team of musicians from various generations, which makes it possible to give audiences more than a glimpse of what modern Cuban music is all about. “I don't play, for example, plain timba, because that doesn't give you the right idea of a Cuban band,” he says. “You have to play contemporary, traditional, and other different styles because they are all excellent sounds.”