Estrellas de Areito – Los Heroes (1979/1998, Cuba)

Continuing our journey through the epic Fedi-sourced catalogue of must-hear albums, our next spotlight is on number 678 on The List, submitted by platenworm. Estrellas de Areito was an ensemble of over 30 Cuban all-star musicians, formed around an idea by African record producer Raoul Diomandé to create a Cuban version of the mostly Puerto Rican Fania All Stars. In 1979 the ensembled gathered in Havana to record improvisational jam sessions (descargas), and the sessions ended up filling 5 whole LPs. Those original albums were gathered and re-released here, in a 2-CD set.

Want to read more? See the full spotlight on the Fediverse at @1001otheralbums.com or on the blog: https://1001otheralbums.com/2026/02/05/estrellas-de-areito-los-heroes-1998-cuba/

Want to skip straight to the music? Here are two YouTube links, one per CD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wve15VdC5Y4 (CD 1) and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw4-sgLVGGg (CD 2)

Happy listening!

#EstrellasDeAreito #RubenGonzalez #charanga #descarga #SonCubano #Cuba #CubanMusic #AfroCubanMusic #music #1001OtherAlbums

Estrellas de Areito – Los Heroes (1979/1998, Cuba)

Our next spotlight is on number 678 on The List, submitted by platenworm.

Want to listen to over 2 hours of Cuban music? Were you perhaps, like I was, left wanting more Rubén González on piano after listening to Buena Vista Social Club?

Estrellas de Areito (“The Stars of Areito”) was an ensemble of over 30 Cuban all-star musicians, including the aforementioned González, formed around an idea by African record producer Raoul Diomandé to create a Cuban version of the mostly Puerto Rican Fania All Stars. Directed by Juan Pablo Torres, in 1979 the ensemble – which spanned 3 generations and 10 of Cuba’s finest bands – gathered in Havana to record improvisational jam sessions (descargas). The sessions ended up filling 5 whole LPs, put out by EGREM, Cuba’s national record label. And while those albums ultimately had poor distribution in Cuba (and had poor packaging with next to no information, at that) and so did not get the attention they deserved at home, they found success when they reached Venezuela, as well as parts of Africa and France. Those original albums are gathered here, in a 2-CD set.

Enjoy! And, if you like reading some fine print and want to know more about the project and the ensemble members, make sure you click on the image in the Discogs link to read through the extensive liner notes.

• YouTube:
  • Estrellas de Areito – Los Heroes (CD 1)
  • Estrellas de Areito – Los Heroes (CD 2)
• Discogs: Estrellas de Areito – Los Heroes

Musica e Cibo, ascolti ed appetiti.

https://radioblackout.org/podcast/musica-e-cibo-ascolti-ed-appetiti/

Self-Titled Summer | Buena Vista Social Club (1997, Cuba)

Our next Self-Titled Summer spotlight is on number 461 on The List, submitted by dharmadischarge. This is one of three albums to come out of the studio sessions of a Havana-based project that brought 20-some mostly retired and local musicians together to celebrate Cuban music, with this release highlighting son cubano, bolero, descarga, danzón, guajira, and criolla. This is essentially the only studio album put out by the collective under this name, but it became a worldwide sensation.

Want to read more? See the full spotlight on the Fediverse at @1001otheralbums.com or on the blog: https://1001otheralbums.com/2025/07/06/self-titled-summer-buena-vista-social-club-1997-cuba/

Want to skip straight to the music? Here's a Songlink: https://album.link/i/1716598034

Happy listening!

#BuenaVistaSocialClub #Cuba #CubanMusic #AfroCuban #SonCubano #RyCooder #1990s #selftitled #music #1001OtherAlbums

Self-Titled Summer | Buena Vista Social Club (1997, Cuba)

Our next Self-Titled Summer spotlight is on number 461 on The List, submitted by dharmadischarge. Here’s a quick rundown:

• Point of origin(s): In 1996, a Havana-based project headed by British music producer and World Circuit record label executive Nick Gold was meant to result in a collaboration between Cuban and African musicians, plus American guitarist Ry Cooder.(1) In the end, the musicians from Africa were unable to make it to Havana, and instead three albums of Cuban music resulted from the ensemble of mostly local musicians, all released the following year: A Toda Cuba le Gusta, the first album under the collective name Afro-Cuban All Stars (led by Juan de Marcos González); Introducing… Rubén González, highlighting the ensemble’s fantastic piano player; and, the album we look at here, the first and only studio album under the collective name Buena Vista Social Club, named after the music venue in Havana that was popular in the 1940s. The lineups aren’t exactly the same across all three recordings, but on this album is: Luis Barzaga, Julio Alberto Fernández Colina, Ibrahim Ferrer, Carlos González, Juan de Marcos González, Rubén González, Manuel “Puntillita” Licea, Orlando “Cachaíto” López, Manuel “Guajiro” Mirabal, Eliades Ochoa, Omara Portuondo, Salvador Repilado Labrada, Julienne Oviedo Sánchez, Compay Segundo, Benito Suárez, Barbarito Torres, Alberto “Virgilio” Valdés, Lázaro Villa, and Ry Cooder and his son Joachim Cooder.
• Tasting notes: Son cubano, bolero, descarga, danzón, guajira, criolla, jazz, sunshine, and the biggest selling Cuban album ever.
• Standout track: The first track “Chan Chan” is such a great vibe-setter so I’ll go with that, but also “Pueblo Nuevo”, one of the tracks that is primarily Rubén González on piano. Oh and, given our series title here, the self-titled track.
• Where are they now?/RIP: While this is the only studio album put out by the collective, the immediate, explosive success of this album made “Buena Vista Social Club” into essentially a brand name for the collective members who went on to release solo projects (indeed, the official website uses ™ behind the name). But, as many of the musicians had already retired long before making this album and had been “in their prime” in the 1940s and 50s – one member, Compay Segundo, was just shy of his 90th birthday in the recording sessions! – it’s likely no surprise that at least a handful of the musicians have since left us, some not too long after the release of this album, including Licea in 2000, Segundo and R. González in 2003, Ferrer in 2005, and López in 2009.
  There’s a LOT to dig into around this collective and the overall impact/importance of this album on the world’s interest in Cuban and Latin American music. A good place to start might be Wim Wenders’ 1999 documentary of the same name.
• Websites: Band website, Wikipedia, documentary

Happy listening!

• Songlink: Buena Vista Social Club – Buena Vista Social Club
• Discogs: Buena Vista Social Club – Buena Vista Social Club

#1990s #BuenaVistaSocialClub #Cuba #CubanMusic #Havana #music #musicDiscovery #RyCooder #selftitled #sonCubano