This is a famous photo of mine
Taken during the October missile crisis outside the Hotel Riviera
The whole Malecon was full of anti-aircraft guns and cannons
We were expecting a US invasion
I took this one in 1959, in Washington
Fidel laid a wreath before Abraham Lincoln
It's called 'David and Goliath'
The little man and the giant
These are Che Guevara and Fidel playing golf
Who won?
Fidel
Che let him win
Ah, the Buena Vista Social Club!
Compay Segundo! Hello!
We should ask these people
Let's ask the old folks where the Buena Vista Social Club is
He'll know
- We're looking for the Social Club - The Buena Vista?
Oh, that's long gone
The Buena Vista was...let's see. You go up that way...
- It was No 48 - Yes, but it's no longer there
OK, tell us where It used to be
Look, you go up that way, and you'll find it
- You used to dance there? - Sure I did
I was born near there. It's a private house now
Go on the dual carriageway
It's that house, the one with a line painted on the door
It's been gone since 1944. We've lived here since then
I remember they used to throw parties at the Buena Vista
In its day, the best bands in Cuba played there
Know what I eat when I've had too much to drink? Chicken soup
You take a piece of chicken neck and you fry it
When it's no longer bloody, you toss in some chopped garlic
You can still see part of the bar
You eat that and you won't have a hangover
That's how I stay fit. Best thing there is
FromAlto Cedro, I'm going to Marcane
I get to Cueto, then go to Mayari
The love I have foryou, I cannot deny
My mouth is watering. I can't help myself
Juanita and Chan Chan, play togetheron the beach
How herbottom shakes. How Chan Chan is aroused
Clear the path ofdry cane leaves
Because I want to sit down
On that trunk over there. Orl might not make it
Asleep in my garden
Amid the gladioli and the roses
And the white lilies
My soul feels sad and heavy
From the flowers I wish to hide my bitterpain
I don't want the flowers to know...
the torments that life gives me
If they knew what I'm suffering...
...formy sorrows, they would cry as well
Silence, for they are asleep
The gladioli and the lilies
I don't want them to know my sorrows
Forif they see me crying, they'll die.
Omara Portuondo!
I, lbrahim Ferrer Planas...
...was born in a small town,
in Santiago de Cuba
San Luis
I am the son of Aurelia Ferrer
Registered as her natural son
I say this because...
...l'd like you all to know from me...
...who I am and what I am
At the age of twelve...
I lost my mother
I had already lost my father.
I was an orphan
I was my mother's only child
So I had to look after myself
I was at school, where I had friends
But I had to abandon my studies then
Life at that time wasn't what it is now
It was harder.
You had to fend for yourself
Do you need a hand?
Ruben and I were just taking it easy
Ruben loves to improvise, and so do l. Let things flow
So, I started singing. I said Compadre, pick up this tune
Two Gardenias foryou
With them I mean to say I love you, I adore you
Pay them allyourmind. They'll be your heart and mine
Ry Cooder heard it, too
When he arrived, I had just sung that number. To loosen up
And he recorded it
Two Gardenias foryou
With them I mean to say...
...l love you. I adore you
Pay them allyourmind. They'll be your heart and mine
Two gardenias foryou
With all the warmth ofa kiss
Kisses you'll neverfind in the arms ofanother
They'll live beside you, and talk to you as I do
And you'll believe they're saying "l love you"
But ifone evening, my love's gardenias should die
It's because they'll have discovered...
...thatyou've betrayed me for the love ofanother
My name is Omara Portuondo
I was born here in Havana in the area known as Cayo Hueso
My father was a famous baseball player
He was one of the first Cubans to play outside his country
They took Cuban baseball To the US
My parents used to relax after lunch and sing a few songs
They would sing duets
And that's how my love of Cuban music began
I started singing La Bayamesa when I was a little girl
My father would sing the lead voice, and I'd sing the back-up
The song I've recorded here, Viente Anos...
...has won a Grammy
I've known it since I was a child
What matterifl love you, ifyou don't love me any more?
A love which is in the past should no longerbe remembered
I was the love ofyourlife, once so very long ago
But now I'm part of the past, and I can't agree to that
Ifall the things we want were within ourgrasp...
...then you'd love me still as much...
...as twenty years ago
With sadness we watch ourlove fade away
A part ofoursouls so heartlessly torn apart
Here on the beach, how Maria enjoys herself
Here on the beach, Maria, howyou excite me
I was born in 1907
On the coast, by the sea. In Siboney
I lived there with my father
He was a train driver, in the magnesium mines
I lived in Siboney until the age of nine
That's when my grandmother died
Then I moved to Santiago de Cuba with my brothers
I wasn't allowed to leave Siboney until my grandmother died
She put it this way:
"Until I die, my grandson..." that's me "... cannot leave my side"
I used to light her cigars
I was only five
And she'd say "Light me a cigar"
And I did, from the age of five
I'd light it, and my grandmother would smoke it
So, you could say I've been smoking for 85 years
I'll have to work hard. Ry Cooder is here
On a tree trunk, a young girl...
...carved her name withjoy
And the tree, touched to the core...
...let a flowerfall for the girl
I am the tree, so sad and moved
You are the girl who hurt me so
I'll always treasure yourdear name
But tell me, what became ofmypoorflower?.
I learned that as a young boy
Music is so beautiful
My name is Eliades Ochoa Bustamante
I was born in Santiago de Cuba on June 22nd, 1946
My mother, Jacoba Bustamante, played the tres
And so die my father.
We were a musical family
I was born a country boy, of course
From the moment I woke up, I heard music
I had music in my blood
I heard music when I went to bed, and music when I woke up
In 1958, I was no bigger than a guitar
I started playing as a kid all around Santiago
In the red light district
I played and passed the hat: "Help Cuban musicians"
That's how I made money
I took all the money home to help my parents
Along the road by my house...
...a merry cart-driver went by
His songs came from the heart
Like ajolly country boy he sang
I'm going to the rail crossing, to unload my cart
And so end anotherday of this back-breaking task
I work without respite so that I can get married
And ifl can manage that I'll be a lucky country lad
My days of passing the hat are over
I'll never forget it, but it's in the past now
I'm a country lad and cart-driver, and in the country I live well
The country is the Garden ofEden, the loveliest in the world
Let's ride our horses to the mountains
Hello, how are you?
We've been waiting ages. You're late
I thought maybe the cops were after you
Make yourselves at home
Once, in Santiago de Cuba, my grandfather was...
...the president of a French society
It was called 'EI Cocuye'
Once, a delegation of Africans went to visit him there
One of the women became Friendly with my mother
And when she left, she gave my mother this staff
My mother was a firm believer in this Lazarus
I have one the same. And I believe in my Lazarus, too
We call him the Beggar
He's very powerful
He's the one who leads the way and helps the poor
The other Lazarus is the same
But that's one I take with me. The one who begs
I lay flowers for him
Sometimes I light a candle
I give him honey
See? 'lt's bees' honey
I give him perfume
Lots of perfume
Every time I go out, I spray him
And I spray myself
His little shot of rum
I like it, so I assume he must like it, too
My wife makes him a meringues sometimes. Know what that is?
We put them here
We offer them to him
So that's how he gets all these things
We Cubans can be thankful, I don't know, to the Man up there...
...that we are the way we are
If we cared about possessions, we would have disappeared long ago
But we Cubans are very fortunate
We're a small country
But we're very strong
We've learned how to resist...
...the good and the bad
Cienfuegos has its Guaguanco
Today I am very moved
I will sing to my land
To that famous region...
...known as the Pearl of the South
That's the last one
It's the one Juan de Marcos wanted
My name is Ruben Gonzalez Fontanells
I was born in Santa Clara, in 1919
At the age of nine, I started playing the piano
My family had bought a piano
It was a fine one, a John Stowers
It was also a pianola. It sounded lovely
When I saw that instrument, I went crazy
I really liked it
So I began practising all the time
When my mother saw I had talent and could become a great pianist...
...she arranged for me to study with a teacher in Cienfuegos
I studied with her until the eighth grade
She'd say to me "Ruben, you'll be a good pianist
"You have great skill with your hands"
I was ignored, so I lost touch
But I wasn't going to starve
I polished shoes, cleaned the streets, sold lottery tickets
I had a family to support
I'm not ashamed to say that
We moved from Santa Clara to Havana
But being in the capital made me feel insecure
I said to myself "There are lots of pianists in Havana"
So, I started studying other things
Playing other instruments
But it turned out that one of my neighbours...
...was a man calledcame to know as Arsenio
He had a great band
And he heard me play
But Arsenio was blind
Not from birth
He had an accident and lost his sight
Anyway, one day he said:
Ruben, would you like to join my band?
I said yes, of course
He'd had a pianist who'd left
He'd gone to Europe
I played in Arsenio's band for about four years
I had a few hits