I appreciate that the show deals with colorism and the racial aspect of Latin identity, which I feel is an unexplored topic even within the community.
Ramirez: Yeah, I mean, that originated just from the fact that the Buena Vista Social Club was a Black club back in the day. It felt like something very organic to the telling of the story. The idea that it affected Ibrahim Ferrer’s actual career, because back then he was considered a background singer, no matter how absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous his voice was… It just felt honest, and the Afro-Cuban nature of the music, that cultural influence, was an organic part of everybody’s story. Saying the quiet parts out loud, as opposed to leaving them quiet, felt right.
What have you noticed from the response to the show?
Ali: I’m really proud because we set out to do a thing, and I think we’ve done it beautifully, and the audiences have been just rapturous. Hearing people applaud at the opening chords of a song… I can’t remember the last time I was on Broadway and heard people applauding not the star coming out, but the song. So to have created a piece that allows these songs to just exist, and then feel that adulation for the music, I feel immensely proud.
Ramirez: It’s particularly moving to see the band’s reaction to it because these are some of the best musicians I’ve ever seen and many of them were not playing Broadway stages a year ago. And an unexpected thing for me, watching the audience, are the moments when a song is mentioned—“We’re gonna sing ‘Dos gardenias’”—and it’s a line I never thought could get a response but, to my shock, some nights people start clapping just at the mention of a song. That’s not us taking credit for anything, but when I think of the whole project of the original album, and people like Juan de Marcos saying, “These are old songs, written 60, 70, 80 years ago, and I just want the world to remember them for a little bit longer,” that’s the reason that record was made, and it pushed the music forward. That was now 30 years ago, so the thought that we get to push it one more time, just a little bit, just to spin the plate once more, feels like we’re helping the collective memory remember the music.
