What is "Buena Vista Social Club"?

"Buena Vista Social Club" is the name of a very popular social club in Havana, Cuba, whose members practised dance and music. It is also the name of a musical group created in the 1990s, almost 50 years after the club closed, which inspired a recording made by Cuban musician Juan de Marcos González and American guitarist Ry Cooder with traditional Cuban musicians, many of them former members of the club where they performed when their popularity was at the summit.

The recording, called "Buena Vista Social Club", by that institution in Havana, was an international success, and the group was presented with its full staff in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 1998. German director Wim Wenders filmed the presentation, followed by a second concert at Carnegie Hall, in New York. This concert was the grand finale of the documentary that resulted from Wenders' work. The documentary also includes interviews with musicians held in Havana. Wenders' film, also named "Buena Vista Social Club", was critically acclaimed and received an Oscar nomination for best long documentary and numerous awards, including Best Documentary at the European Film Awards.