Critical Review #10

Robert Neustadt’s compares and contrasts two of Cuba’s most famous music groups, Buena Vista Social Club and La Charanga Habanera, and considers the two very different perspectives both groups produce regarding Cuban identity. Buena Vista Social Club, comprised mainly of older musicians that have been held back from international audiences thanks to political and social implications surrounding Cuba, have made a name for themselves by playing relatively simple, yet traditional Cuban songs. Ironically, their newfound popularity around the world had not translated to similar fame and success within their own country. Those within Cuba saw Buena Vista Social Club as having lost their novel appeal, and instead tended to favor the younger, more progressive Charanga Habanera, whose markedly distinct style of electric music, called timba, seemed to serve as a better representation of present Cuban culture. Neustadt also addresses more subtle differences between the BVSC and La Charanga Habanera, namely both groups’ song lyrics and the album artwork of both groups’ CDs. He claims that sexual innuendo runs rampant in both groups’ song lyrics, with the difference lying in the salience of the sexual references in La Charanga Habanera’s lyrics. According to Neustadt, each group’s album art also reflected each group’s identity and roots in that La Charanga Habanera’s Tremendo delirio portrays a more contemporary, progressive image while BVSC’s album portrays Cuba as a country stagnant and held back, much like the Buena Vista Social Club was prior to the Cuban Revolution.

Discussion Question: Is it possible to consider a broader definition of authenticity, one that can be applied to both Buena Vista Social Club and La Charanga Habanera and possibly attempt to resolve differing beliefs with regard to identity formation and political representation in Cuba?