[Clive]
Whether or not Fidel Castro is really on his way to meet his Maker, let’s hope that the island’s musical tradition survives whatever turbulence lies ahead. Here’s a neat clip of one of the country’s great dynastic groups, Familia Valera Miranda, masters of rootsy "son". It’s a typically soulful, intimate performance. Enjoy the audience reaction. Buena Vista Social Club luminaries Compay Segundo and Eliades Ochoa are listening in, too.
Compay’s old friend, Ruben Gonzalez turns up on this TV recording, shot during his first trip to the UK. I interviewed him at his home in Havana around the same time. It was a small, extremely modest house with no luxuries except his new baby-grand, tucked away under the stairs. Before the success of the first Buena Vista album, he han’t been able to afford an instrument of his own (his old one had succumbed to age and the climate) so he got into the habit of sneaking onto the piano in one of Havana’s main hotels. Naturally, the staff didn’t mind.
The Dish 