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La historia de una hermana perdida de Omara Portuondo inspiró la trama del musical, una herida familiar que el director convirtió en símbolo de separación, migración y reencuentro entre Cuba y el mundo.
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00:22Por el camino del sitio mío, un carretero alegre pasó
00:33Bienvenidos a M2 hoy, ese es un privilegio
00:36Estoy muy feliz de estar aquí con ti
00:39Antes de que el club de Buenavista Social Club abierta en México
00:44Director en Broadway, director de todo el mundo
00:46Y ahora estás aquí
00:47Ahora estoy aquí, estoy muy feliz de estar aquí
00:49Estoy muy feliz de estar aquí
00:51Y estoy muy agradecida porque te lo dije
00:53Solo vi un poco de meses
00:55Y tengo que decirte
00:57I knew the story, I knew the music
01:00I had no idea it could be that powerful
01:04These days
01:05Thank you
01:06How do you do that?
01:07Well, you start with the music
01:09You know, the music is so good
01:11I heard the album for the first time when I was 16
01:13In Kenya, I grew up in Kenya
01:15And it had such an impact on me
01:17It stayed with me since then
01:19So I do that by honoring the music
01:22And the music making
01:23And trying to celebrate and elevate the culture
01:26As best as I can
01:27And this is a lot of things
01:31I believe that they use art and music
01:34To get through so many things
01:36Yes
01:36And that's a big part of the story
01:37Of the Buenavista Social Club
01:38It's not just the story of the artists we know
01:41No
01:41How would you say they use the music
01:44To confront different moments
01:47In Cuban history
01:48And Latin history
01:49Yeah, the music has a resilience
01:51It has a passion
01:54It has a relentless life force to it
01:59Every time I hear these songs
02:01I feel invigorated
02:02I feel like, you know
02:04Rejuvenated and reset for life
02:06There's just something up
02:07And that's why we can listen to these songs
02:09Again and again and again
02:10This album went all over the world
02:12It didn't matter what language you spoke
02:14It didn't matter what culture you were
02:15You moved to the music
02:17You fell to the music
02:18And so I think there's just something
02:20About the Cuban identity
02:24Expressed in music
02:25That is so magical and so special
02:28And now you say that
02:30And I remember
02:31That I was amazed that the songs
02:33Stayed in Spanish
02:34Yes
02:35I truly do appreciate that
02:37Working in theater myself
02:39In some things
02:40And working in translations
02:40Some things do have to stay
02:42In the original language
02:44Yes
02:44And it's not easy for it to work
02:46But it works so well
02:47Thank you
02:48Because this was the big challenge
02:49Yeah
02:49Because in musicals
02:50When a character breaks out in a song
02:52You were hearing the lyrics
02:53They're telling you some story
02:55Right?
02:55About character
02:56About plot
02:57And how were we going to make a musical
02:59Where the songs didn't carry the story
03:01Because we had to create it in a way
03:02That you would understand what was happening
03:06Whether or not you spoke Spanish
03:07Right
03:07But these songs have had such power
03:10In the original Spanish
03:11So I was so convinced
03:12That we could preserve them
03:14Build a story around them
03:15And keep the songs the way that they were
03:17And even though they don't advance
03:19The plot as such
03:21It does advance the plot emotionally
03:23Completely
03:25The story happening
03:26You know
03:26In Kandiria
03:27There's a moment with the flute
03:28And it's all about the flute
03:29You know
03:30Omara hates the flute
03:31What's going to happen?
03:32You're waiting to see what's going to happen
03:33So the audience is ready for some drama
03:36And that's all that you're watching for
03:38And at the same time
03:39You're enjoying this incredible song
03:41And that song gets like
03:43Two rounds of applause every night
03:44Because it's such a good song
03:45Yes
03:46But we managed to find a way
03:47To make her
03:48You know
03:48She melts
03:49I won't give it away
03:50But like
03:50You saw it
03:51I saw it
03:52I know
03:52And I
03:53We can also tell people
03:54That we're seeing these characters
03:55In different moments of their lives
03:57Yes
03:57We go back and forth
03:58Yeah the 1950s and the 1990s
04:00I remember the 1990s
04:02Not the 50s
04:03But I do remember
04:04When they started
04:05Traveling all over the world
04:07And everybody got to know that
04:08I had no idea
04:10What happened before
04:11Yes
04:11So telling the story
04:13How did you come to that?
04:14Well there was one day
04:16With Omara Portuondo herself
04:17And she said
04:19Oh I had a sister
04:20She told the producer of the show
04:21I had a sister
04:22We separated when I was young
04:24And I never saw her again
04:25She went to America
04:26And that became the seed
04:27Of that story
04:28Right
04:29Because we have this line
04:30At the beginning of the show
04:31Where we say
04:32Some things are true
04:33Some things only feel true
04:34So we take some dramatic license
04:36But hearing that Omara had a sister
04:38Who she was separated from
04:39We decided that that was a story
04:41The emotional story
04:43With which to tell the biggest story
04:44Of the revolution
04:45Of separation of families
04:47People staying
04:48And people leaving
04:48Because as someone who
04:51You know
04:52Everyone can understand that
04:53What it means to lose a sibling
04:54To have a sibling
04:56So the universality of that
04:58Felt like
04:58Where we should hang the story
05:00And the stories of migrations
05:02Which I
05:02Obviously you've lived on yourself
05:04I sure have yes
05:05There must be a lot of things
05:06That we do have in common
05:08In terms of culture
05:09When it comes to migrating
05:11To different places
05:12Absolutely
05:12I migrated from Africa
05:13To come to the United States
05:15For a better life
05:16For opportunity
05:17I knew that I couldn't be an artist
05:19In Kenya
05:20In Africa
05:20So I came to America for that
05:22And I left behind people
05:23And you know
05:24There's some guilt
05:25And some complicated feelings
05:27About that
05:27So I understood
05:28What Omara
05:29Was going through
05:30In our story
05:30We definitely have a lot
05:32Of things in common
05:33Now you're here in Mexico
05:34And I still
05:34Deal that with part of the story
05:36Yes
05:37Absolutely
05:38And
05:38There's a very interesting thing
05:40Going on in Broadway
05:41Lately
05:42From some years to now
05:43With the Latin community
05:44Yes
05:44And we had some amazing
05:46People working there
05:47I'm sure you know
05:48Many of them
05:48Jaime Lopez
05:49For example
05:49Or obviously
05:50We talked to
05:51Who's met on the junior
05:53Before we were there
05:54About this
05:55He was so excited
05:56Yes
05:57But there's a lot
05:58Of Latin people working
05:59Making sure
06:00That we are represented there too
06:02What feedback
06:04Have you gotten
06:04From the community
06:06After this
06:07Has been such a beautiful success
06:08Well
06:09What we've hoped
06:10Is that this will
06:11Open the doors
06:11For more shows
06:13That have like
06:14Latin American identity
06:14And language in them
06:16You know
06:16I'm very humble
06:17Because this is not
06:18My culture and my language
06:19I'm African
06:19English is my second language
06:21I grew up speaking Swahili
06:22So I understand
06:23What it feels like
06:24To be in the world
06:25Where English
06:26Is a predominant language
06:27And that's not
06:28The language of my heart
06:29Or my dreams
06:30You know
06:31So I feel so
06:32Honored
06:33To have been invited
06:34To tell a story
06:35That is not
06:35Of my own culture
06:37And to find an opportunity
06:39To show
06:39How more similar
06:40We are than different
06:41Because
06:42If you can understand
06:43Another human being
06:44If you can connect
06:45Empathize with
06:46What they're going through
06:47It brings you
06:48Closer together
06:49It's less
06:51Possible for you
06:52To have hatred
06:52And division
06:53With someone
06:53If you understand
06:54Their humanity
06:55So I'm just
06:56A firm believer
06:57Of theatre
06:57Being a really
06:58Really powerful vessel
06:59For that
07:00I am so with you
07:01In that
07:02In every other sense
07:03And it's
07:04I find it beautiful
07:05So what have you found
07:07With this production
07:08In Mexico
07:08With this cast
07:10Tell me about
07:11I have been astonished
07:13At the talent here
07:14Because it's been
07:15Very hard to cast
07:16Buena Vista
07:17In America
07:17Like finding people
07:18Who could sing these songs
07:19Who could act them
07:20Who could dance them
07:21Who could play the instruments
07:22It took us a long time
07:24In Mexico
07:25It didn't take us
07:25That long at all
07:26The talent pool here
07:27Is so deep
07:28So I was so impressed
07:29With that
07:30We were able to find
07:31The characters
07:32Who could actually
07:32Play these roles here
07:33And who can bring
07:35Themselves to it
07:35We have eight performers
07:36Who are Cuban
07:38The majority of the cast
07:39Is Mexican
07:39But we have an actor
07:41From Colombia
07:41An actor from Panama
07:42An actor from Guatemala
07:43So it's just been
07:45Exceptional to see
07:46These performers
07:47Embody these roles
07:49And get to do it
07:49In Spanish throughout
07:50And we're sitting here
07:52In the lobby of
07:52One of the most
07:53Emblematic theaters in Mexico
07:54It's stunning
07:55Isn't it?
07:56Yes
07:56That mural in front
07:57It's gorgeous
07:58Debo Rivera
07:59And you know
08:00Bringing that culture
08:02Your own culture
08:03Into it
08:03Because obviously
08:04The feeling
08:05That's what we all
08:06Have in common
08:06And bring it here
08:08When you see it run
08:09I know we're going to see it run
08:10In a few days completely
08:11But when you see it run
08:13What do you feel?
08:14Can you stop
08:15Just being the director
08:16And just
08:17I feel really proud
08:18I feel really proud
08:20Because my dream
08:22Is to create theater
08:23That connects people
08:25And to do it
08:26Across cultures
08:27Across languages
08:28Is even more of a gift
08:30So I feel really
08:31Humbled and proud
08:32You know
08:33The theater community
08:34In Mexico
08:35And this company
08:36That's working
08:38On this with you
08:40It's been a really
08:41Really incredible run
08:43Ever since
08:44The Beauty and the Beast
08:45That was the first
08:46Big one that they
08:47Brought here
08:48And it's been
08:48Many years since then
08:49But it's been
08:51A great fight
08:52To make people
08:53Go to the theater
08:55And I think
08:56We have a culture now
08:57But what's your feeling
08:59About the theater
08:59In places where
09:00We don't have like
09:01A Broadway or a West End
09:03Or even in Argentina
09:04They have the street
09:05With all the theaters there
09:06Yeah
09:06Well I've been so impressed here
09:07I just went backstage
09:08And there were all these
09:09Playbills from
09:10From plays and musicals
09:12That were performed here
09:12In this theater
09:13From the 1950s
09:14Right
09:14So there is
09:15There is a legacy
09:16There is a history
09:17And so
09:18I just feel like
09:19With a show like
09:20Buena Vista
09:20I'm so proud
09:21That the first
09:22International production
09:23Is happening in Mexico
09:24There is something
09:25About that just feels
09:27Cosmically correct
09:28How did you fall in love
09:29With the theater?
09:30How did I fall in love with it?
09:32My dad was an airline pilot
09:34Like I mentioned
09:35I went to London
09:36With him on a trip
09:37And I saw
09:37My first musical there
09:39It was Grease
09:40Grease
09:40I'd never seen a show before
09:42And so I came back to Kenya
09:43And I couldn't stop
09:44Thinking about it
09:45So I wrote the script
09:46From memory
09:46And I had the cassette tape
09:48And I got my high school friends
09:49To be in a production of Grease
09:50So something about
09:52Sitting in a musical theater
09:53Moved me at 16 years old
09:55To want to make a musical
09:57With my high school friends
09:58So since then
09:59I've just been doing that
10:00One room at a time
10:01Making shows
10:02Contributed by a good friend
10:04Lalo
10:04Who told you about a book
10:05We did
10:06Yes
10:07That's a great title
10:08Thank you
10:09Yes
10:10I believe that musical theater
10:11Can change one's life
10:13Right
10:13Yeah
10:13So what would you tell people
10:15Who refuse to suspend
10:16You know their disbelief
10:18And just go with it
10:19Come and see
10:20Buena Vista Social Club
10:21It will change your mind
10:23About that
10:23Yeah
10:24Absolutely
10:24Musicals are
10:25Musicals are powerful
10:26Because music is a language
10:28On its own
10:29So if you like to go to a concert
10:30And experience music
10:31And you feel something
10:32You can feel that
10:33In musical theater
10:34And now that you hear it
10:36Also the text
10:37Not just the songs
10:38Everything in Spanish
10:39Does it flow differently
10:40Oh it does
10:41It feels
10:41You know
10:42I love watching films
10:43In their original languages
10:44In foreign languages
10:45English for me
10:46Is a foreign language
10:46So everything is
10:47A foreign language
10:48But to hear this
10:50Connect to the songs
10:51In a way
10:52Where there's no barrier
10:53There's something about it
10:54That feels like
10:55It's returning home
10:56It is returning home
10:58Mexico
10:58Cuba
10:59I mean
10:59We do have a lot of
11:00Things in common
11:01Especially
11:02The way we
11:04Profoundly feel
11:05Yes
11:05Very profoundly
11:08Have you found that
11:09Like an asset
11:11With this great cast
11:12Oh absolutely
11:13Absolutely
11:14And again
11:15Because I've traveled
11:16So much in Latin America
11:17This is the first time
11:18Like experiencing
11:19Like a culture
11:20Of working together
11:20And artists
11:21There's just a generosity
11:23Of spirit
11:24I've always felt
11:25Welcome and invited
11:26Everywhere that I've gone
11:27Especially here in Mexico
11:28And so
11:29This cast
11:30This cast is so good
11:31I can't wait for you
11:32To see them
11:33I can't either
11:33So why don't we
11:35Tell people to please
11:36Why should they
11:37Come see Buena Vista
11:38Social Club
11:39And why is it
11:40Different from
11:40Just the music
11:41Than I had
11:42Like the CD
11:42Or if they have
11:44Memories from the 90s
11:45I know I remember
11:45Seeing them
11:46And it was amazing
11:47Yeah
11:47It's another thing
11:48Well if you know
11:49This music
11:49And you love this music
11:50You're going to
11:51Experience it
11:52Like you've never
11:52Experienced before
11:53Come and see
11:54Buena Vista
11:54Social Club
11:55Come and see
11:56These musicians
11:56Play this music
11:57These performers
11:58These dancers
11:59Act their hearts out
12:00It's going to
12:01Change your life
12:02And for the new
12:03Generations
12:03Who might just
12:04Encounter this
12:05For the first time
12:06You come and see
12:07Why this has been
12:08Important for
12:08Generations
12:09This music
12:10And we're actually
12:11Telling the story
12:12About young people
12:13And elderly people
12:14In it
12:14So it's a
12:14Cross-generational
12:15Story within it
12:16So there's something
12:17For everyone
12:17Even the young people
12:18I cannot wait
12:19Yeah
12:20For opening night
12:21Thank you
12:21I cannot wait
12:22To celebrate this
12:23With you
12:23And with this amazing
12:24Cast and I truly
12:25Thank you for your
12:25Thank you
12:26My absolute pleasure
12:27Mine too
12:27Thank you
12:28Muchas gracias
12:29A ustedes
12:29Por acompañarnos
12:30Aquí en M2
12:31No se pierdan
12:32Buena Vista
12:32Social Club
12:33Les vamos a dar
12:33Todos los detalles
12:35De cuando
12:35Bueno aquí
12:36En el Teatro
12:36Mis Urgentes
12:37Así que no se lo pierdan
12:38Chao
12:46Chau
12:47Chau
12:47Chau
12:47Chau
12:47Chau
12:49Chau
12:50Chau
12:51Chau
12:52Chau