Author: Tamara Compass Crawford

One Friday night, my friend and I managed to get tickets to see the (fairly) new, Grammy nominated, Broadway musical Buena Vista Social Club. I had never seen this musical before, and I was excited to see what was in store. I love going into a new musical blind, so I didn’t look up anything about the plot prior to seeing it. To say I was pleasantly surprised by this musical would be an understatement. The beautiful costumes, the set, and the character development are just a few aspects I loved about this musical. The plot, though, had me at the edge of my seat. Not to mention it’s based on a true story.

The musical takes place in 1990s Cuba, where a young producer is trying to make an album featuring the musicians from the now 50-year-old Buena Vista Social Club. He was able to round up all the instrumentalists but who he wanted to sing lead vocals, Omara Portuondo was reluctant. After some major convincing, Omara agrees to sing on the album.

Throughout the musical we see flashbacks of Omara’s life when she started singing at the Buena Vista. It was the 1940s, amidst the Cuban revolution. Omara could’ve escaped the violence and immigrated to the U.S. with her sister, but Omara refused. She wanted to stay united with her people, her family in music, and she refused to abandon them.

Like we talk about in class, music and art are often outlets to either spread awareness about their struggles or to escape them for a moment. We saw this in practice during the Harlem Renaissance, for example. Omara and her musicians used music for both reasons. They used music as their shelter but also as an avenue to bring their struggles to light.

Without spoiling the rest of the musical, it was truly breathtaking. The combination of singing in both English and Spanish helped make the musical accessible to non-Spanish speakers. The passionate acoustic guitarists, the strong rhythm of the drums, and the emotional vocals on top made me empathize with the characters. This musical beautifully depicted Cuban culture and the struggles endured by Cuban people. But most importantly, it portrayed their strength and bravery in speaking out against the government and risking their lives in the name of their craft. After the show, I went to the stage door, took pictures with, and got my PlayBill signed by majority of the cast. They were all super sweet and filled with joy.

A large takeaway from this experience was the importance of sharing your story and spreading awareness through palatable ways like art or music. I never knew much about the Cuban revolution but I learned much more after seeing Buena Vista Social Club. A true story along with authentic Cuban music and dancing gave us a taste of their culture in a way that is fun and accessible to the viewers. Art can give you a rich history lesson which is so important because knowledge leads to growth.

On a free Saturday, I decided to visit the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. I am not a museum goer because visual art is usually boring to me. I don’t usually spend the time to really look at each piece. I just glance and see if something is pretty or not and move on. Nonetheless, after the Guggenheim presentation, I thought the museum might be worth visiting.

Even after the presentation, nothing could have prepared me for the experience of just walking into the building. As soon as you walk in, you look up and see the beautiful spirals. Then you notice how loud but simultaneous muffled everyone sounds. It’s truly a unique experience. Even though the Guggenheim representative told us this was the usual reaction, I didn’t expect it to happen exactly how she described. I have never been to a museum with even an atrium that’s memorable.

My favorite exhibit displayed was the artwork by Rashid Johnson. One of the pieces was familiar to me because someone in class presented on it. But I remember staying in that exhibit for a very long time. A lot of Johnson’s artwork looks weird, abstract, or plain. That is until you sit down with the piece and read what it’s about. That’s when you see the intricacies or the weight of the story behind the piece and see the beauty in it. One of Johnson’s piece that I especially liked was “Stay Black and Die”. Looking at it, its just a black sheet with brown letters with some orange patches that read, “Stay Black and Die” but the story behind it was truly touching. He created that piece and the others (which are apart of the “Things I need to do” series) as a representation of the anxieties that are created by the racism and violence faced by black men.

My time at the Guggenheim was truly a special one. Usually after leaving a museum there is nothing that I deem memorable enough for me to visit again. But, after visiting the Guggenheim I would definitely go there again with my family or friends. It was a unique experience that was worth having. I learned art isn’t boring, I just hadn’t found a museum I loved yet, until now.