Juan de Marcos and the Afro-Cuban All Stars

After gaining international fame for reviving classic Cuban music, tres master Juan de Marcos has turned the Afro-Cuban All Stars into a sensational showcase for Cuba’s most prodigious young musicians. While long revered as a founding member of Cuba’s great revival band Sierra Maestra, de Marcos is perhaps best known as founder of the Buena Vista Social Club. It was de Marcos who assembled Ibrahim Ferrer, Eliades Ochoa, Rubén González, and the rest of the crew for Ry Cooder when he came to Havana looking for illustrious old-timers. But de Marcos is also committed to promoting Cuba’s brilliant young musicians. “What I’m trying to do is create a bridge between contemporary and traditional Cuban music,” de Marcos says. “I’m trying to mix both things so people can realize that Cuban music didn’t stop in time, that it developed in this long period when Cuban music disappeared from the market.”