Saturday Video: Experience the Romance of Old Cuba Through the Music of Ibrahim Ferrer
Romance. Nostalgia. That wistful longing for the past; for the way things were. For many people, particularly those of us living in the United States, no singular Caribbean country conjures such emotions more so than Cuba.
Old politics, outdated policies and hubris persist in preventing us from knowing Cuba quite as well as we’d like, of course, but at least we have the music of Ibrahim Ferrer to fuel our imagination…
Ferrer is among my favorite Cuban musicians/singers. Even if you don’t recognize his name, but love Cuban music, then you’re probably a fan as well.
Over the course of a recording career that spanned more than 60 years, Ferrer was a focal point of several top bands in Cuba, including Conjunto Sorpresa and the Afro-Cuban All Stars. He’s better known on the international stage, though, for his time with the legendary Buena Vista Social Club, with whom he performed in his later years.
Ferrer, to me, just has one of those classic crooner voices you really don’t hear anymore. A tad raspy and perfectly pitch-imperfect, his voice commands every note without apologies, his charm winning your affections with ease…
Ferrer passed away in 2005 at the age of 78. Does his influence live on in the voices of a new generation of Cuban crooners? Just another of the many questions we hope to answer when we finally make our first trip to Cuba in early-2014…
Lead photo credit: Jason Hickey (exquisitur) via Flickr.com.
