Buena Vista Social Club
Script - Dialogue Transcript
Voila! Finally, the Buena Vista Social Club
script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the Wim Wenders
documentary movie about Cuban musicians. This script is a transcript that was painstakingly
transcribed using the screenplay and/or viewings of Buena Vista Social Club. I know, I know, I still need to get the cast names in there and I'll be eternally
tweaking it, so if you have any corrections, feel free to
drop me a line. You won't
hurt my feelings. Honest.
This is a famous photo of mine
Taken during the October missile
crisis outside the Hotel Riviera
The whole Malecon was full of
anti-aircraft guns and cannons
We were expecting a US invasion
I took this one in
in Washington
Fidel laid a wreath
before Abraham Lincoln
It's called 'David and Goliath'
The little man and the giant
These are Che Guevara and Fidel
playing golf
Who won?
Fidel
Che let him win
Ah, the Buena Vista Social Club!
Compay Segundo! Hello!
We should ask these people
Let's ask the old folks where
the Buena Vista Social Club is
He'll know
- We're looking for the Social Club
- The Buena Vista?
Oh, that's long gone
The Buena Vista was...let's see.
You go up that way...
- It was No
- Yes, but it's no longer there
OK, tell us where
It used to be
Look, you go up that way,
and you'll find it
- You used to dance there?
- Sure I did
I was born near there.
It's a private house now
Go on the dual carriage way
It's that house, the one with
a line painted on the door
It's been gone since .
We've lived here since then
I remember they used to throw
parties at the Buena Vista
In its day, the best bands
in Cuba played there
Know what I eat when I've had
too much to drink? Chicken soup
You take a piece of chicken neck
and you fry it
When it's no longer bloody,
you toss in some chopped garlic
You can still see
part of the bar
You eat that and you won't
have a hangover
That's how I stay fit.
Best thing there is
FromAlto Cedro,
I'm going to Marcane
I get to Cueto,
then go to Mayari
The love I have for you,
I cannot deny
My mouth is watering.
I can't help myself
Juanita and Chan Chan,
play together on the beach
How her bottom shakes.
How Chan Chan is aroused
Clear the path of dry cane leaves
Because I want to sit down
On that trunk over there.
Or I might not make it
Asleep in my garden
Amid the gladioli and the roses
And the white lilies
My soul feels sad and heavy
From the flowers I wish to hide
my bitter pain
I don't want
the flowers to know...
the torments
that life gives me
If they knew
what I'm suffering...
...for my sorrows,
they would cry as well
Silence,
for they are asleep
The gladioli and the lilies
I don't want them
to know my sorrows
For if they see me crying,
they'll die.
Omara Portuondo!
I, Ibrahim Ferrer Planas...
...was born in a small town,
in Santiago de Cuba
San Luis
I am the son of Aurelia Ferrer
Registered as her natural son
I say this because...
...l'd like you all
to know from me...
...who I am and what I am
At the age of twelve...
I lost my mother
I had already lost my father.
I was an orphan
I was my mother's only child
So I had to look after myself
I was at school,
where I had friends
But I had to abandon
my studies then
Life at that time wasn't
what it is now
It was harder.
You had to fend for yourself
Do you need a hand?
Ruben and I were just
taking it easy
Ruben loves to improvise,
and so do I. Let things flow
So, I started singing. I said
Compadre, pick up this tune
Two Gardenias for you
With them I mean to say
I love you, I adore you
Pay them allyourmind.
They'll be your heart and mine
Ry Cooder heard it, too
When he arrived, I had just sung
that number. To loosen up
And he recorded it
Two Gardenias for you
With them I mean to say...
...I love you. I adore you
Pay them all your mind.
They'll be your heart and mine
Two gardenias for you
With all the warmth of a kiss
Kisses you'll never find
in the arms of another
They'll live beside you,
and talk to you as I do
And you'll believe they're saying
"I love you"
But if one evening,
my love's gardenias should die
It's because they'll
have discovered...
...that you've betrayed me
for the love of another
My name is Omara Portuondo
I was born here in Havana
in the area known as Cayo Hueso
My father was a famous
baseball player
He was one of the first Cubans
to play outside his country
They took Cuban baseball
To the US
My parents used to relax after lunch
and sing a few songs
They would sing duets
And that's how my love of
Cuban music began
I started singing La Bayamesa
when I was a little girl
My father would sing the lead voice,
and I'd sing the back-up
The song I've recorded here,
Viente Anos...
...has won a Grammy
I've known it since
I was a child
What matter if I love you,
if you don't love me any more?
A love which is in the past
should no longer be remembered
I was the love of your life,
once so very long ago
But now I'm part of the past,
and I can't agree to that
If all the things we want
were within our grasp...
...then you'd love me
still as much...
...as twenty years ago
With sadness we watch
our love fade away
A part of our souls
so heartlessly torn apart
Here on the beach,
how Maria enjoys herself
Here on the beach,
Maria, howyou excite me
I was born in
On the coast, by the sea.
In Siboney
I lived there with my father
He was a train driver,
in the magnesium mines
I lived in Siboney
until the age of nine
That's when my grandmother died
Then I moved to Santiago de Cuba
with my brothers
I wasn't allowed to leave Siboney
until my grandmother died
She put it this way:
"Until I die, my grandson..."
that's me "... cannot leave my side"
I used to light her cigars
I was only five
And she'd say "Light me a cigar"
And I did, from the age of five
I'd light it, and my grandmother
would smoke it
So, you could say I've been
smoking for years
I'll have to work hard.
Ry Cooder is here
On a tree trunk,
a young girl...
...carved her name withjoy
And the tree,
touched to the core...
...let a flower fall
for the girl
I am the tree,
so sad and moved
You are the girl
who hurt me so
I'll always treasure
your dear name
But tell me, what became
of my poor flower?.
I learned that as a young boy
Music is so beautiful
My name is
Eliades Ochoa Bustamante
I was born in Santiago de Cuba
on June nd,
My mother, Jacoba Bustamante,
played the tres
And so die my father.
We were a musical family
I was born a country boy,
of course
From the moment I woke up,
I heard music
I had music in my blood
I heard music when I went to bed,
and music when I woke up
In I was no bigger
than a guitar
I started playing as a kid
all around Santiago
In the red light district
I played and passed the hat:
"Help Cuban musicians"
That's how I made money
I took all the money home
to help my parents
Along the road by my house...
...a merry cart-driver went by
His songs came from the heart
Like ajolly country boy he sang
I'm going to the rail crossing,
to unload my cart
And so end anotherday
of this back-breaking task
I work without respite
so that I can get married
And if I can manage that
I'll be a lucky country lad
My days of passing the hat
are over
I'll never forget it,
but it's in the past now
I'm a country lad and cart-driver,
and in the country I live well
The country is the Garden of Eden,
the loveliest in the world
Let's ride our horses
to the mountains
Hello, how are you?
We've been waiting ages.
You're late
I thought maybe the cops
were after you
Make yourselves at home
Once, in Santiago de Cuba,
my grandfather was...
...the president of
a French society
It was called 'EI Cocuye'
Once, a delegation of Africans
went to visit him there
One of the women became
Friendly with my mother
And when she left, she gave
my mother this staff
My mother was a firm believer
in this Lazarus
I have one the same. And I believe
in my Lazarus, too
We call him the Beggar
He's very powerful
He's the one who leads the way
and helps the poor
The other Lazarus is the same
But that's one I take with me.
The one who begs
I lay flowers for him
Sometimes I light a candle
I give him honey
See? 'lt's bees' honey
I give him perfume
Lots of perfume
Every time I go out,
I spray him
And I spray myself
His little shot of rum
I like it, so I assume
he must like it, too
My wife makes him a meringues
sometimes. Know what that is?
We put them here
We offer them to him
So that's how he gets
all these things
We Cubans can be thankful,
I don't know, to the Man up there...
...that we are the way we are
If we cared about possessions, we
would have disappeared long ago
But we Cubans are very fortunate
We're a small country
But we're very strong
We've learned how to resist...
...the good and the bad
Cienfuegos has its Guaguanco
Today I am very moved
I will sing to my land
To that famous region...
...known as the Pearl
of the South
That's the last one
It's the one Juan de Marcos wanted
My name is Ruben Gonzalez
Fontanells
I was born in Santa Clara,
in
At the age of nine, I started
playing the piano
My family had bought a piano
It was a fine one, a John Stowers
It was also a pianola.
It sounded lovely
When I saw that instrument,
I went crazy
I really liked it
So I began practising
all the time
When my mother saw I had talent
and could become a great pianist...
...she arranged for me to study
with a teacher in Cienfuegos
I studied with her until
the eighth grade
She'd say to me "Ruben, you'll be
a good pianist
"You have great skill
with your hands"
I was ignored, so I lost touch
But I wasn't going to starve
I polished shoes, cleaned the
streets, sold lottery tickets
I had a family to support
I'm not ashamed to say that
We moved from Santa Clara
to Havana
But being in the capital
made me feel insecure
I said to myself "There are
lots of pianists in Havana"
So, I started studying
other things
Playing other instruments
But it turned out that
one of my neighbours...
...was a man calledcame to know as Arsenio
He had a great band
And he heard me play
But Arsenio was blind
Not from birth
He had an accident
and lost his sight
Anyway, one day he said:
Ruben, would you like
to join my band?
I said yes, of course
He'd had a pianist who'd left
He'd gone to Europe
I played in Arsenio's band
for about four years
I had a few hits
People always said Arsenio
liked to pick fights
He'd get really angry when
people argued back
He'd stand there, listening
Then leap in the direction
of the voice
But of course, he was blind
So they'd all run away
And whoever it was would say
"Quiet, don't let him catch me"
And poor Arsenio would
stumble about
And get really angry
Because people were
nasty to him
He was a big fat guy,
taller than anyone
He used to make me laugh
I swear, I won't smoke again
Well, just a little bit
And I won't drink either.
No more of that
I used to drink a lot
I've a good bodyguard here.
She won't let me
This is Arsenio Rodriguez
It's his best photo
May
His band toured a lot in Mexico,
and in Venezuela
Most of them are dead now
This one is still alive.
He's nearly
His name is Pascualito.
He plays the timbal
He died in Spain
The one thing I don't want
is to die. Not yet, anyway
That Man up there,
and my wife here...
...are making sure I'm still around
to enjoy myself
You know, some people
don't have much time left
As long as I have blood
in my veins...
...l'll go on loving women
Women, flowers and romance are
the most beautiful things in life
One night of romance...
that has no price
I haven't forgotten it,
and I'm years old
I have five children
You met Salvador and Basilio.
Salvador is the youngest
I have five children. But now
I'm working on the sixth
I want to have one more
See you some other day
One day, out of the blue...
...there was a knock on my door
It was Juan de Marcos
I was shining my shoes at the time
He said "What are you doing?"
I said "l'm just shining my shoes"
He said "l've been looking for you.
Come with me"
I told him I didn't want
to sing any more
But he said "No, man, I need you"
So I ask him when
Tomorrow? I said.
And he said "No, right now"
Well, let me have a shower
No, no, right now he said
All I had time for was
to wash my face...
...and wipe the shoe polish
off my hands
So we came here, to the Egrem
And here, in the Egrem studios,
I found Eliades Ochoa
He was with Compay Segundo.
And Ruben was playing the piano
When Ruben saw me,
he started playing...
That's a number I'd made
popular in Cuba
It's called Candela, by
Faustino Oramas 'EI Guayabero'
There goes a dancing rat,
having a whale of a time
While a mouse drums out a tune
to brighten up the day
A cat comes along, too.
So elegant and content
Good evening, friend
he says to the drummer
Anyway, I started singing
And Ry, who was in the booth,
must have been listening
He heard me...
...and decided to record it
So I said OK. And we recorded it
And that is how it all started
Fire! Fire!
I'm burning up!
Faustino Oramas and friends,
put this fire out for me!
Just dial seven zeros
and the firemen will be right here
My name is Orlando Lopez 'Cachaito'
I want to tell you how
I became a musician
I started playing I was nine
When I was , I joined
my aunt's orchestra
Starting with my great-grandfather,
we all play the bass in the family
I was going to study the violin
But my grandfather said I had to
play the bass. You know how it is
I was a bit of afraid of the bass
But in the end I got used to it
My style of playing is...
Well, I need to concentrate.
I love this instrument
I've studied classical music,
every genre
I don't know, to me music
is like a game
I've played with many orchestras
in my time
And this is how I met Ruben
I'd played with so many pianists,
And he was the only one missing
Now it turns out we're a great duo
My great strength is that
I have a good ear
I can also sight-read very fast
So before he plays a note,
I already have it in mind
My name is Amadito Valdes.
I am percussionist
I use my father's name as he was
my source of inspiration
I followed in his footsteps
In the field of percussion,
the timbal is very limited
Whoever plays it must be
very aware of that...
...and use his imagination
Because this is an instrument
which is rather limited...
...in its physical design,
you could say
It's a humble instrument
But one that lends
a lovely color...
...to popular dance music
My name is Manuel Mirabal Vazquez
better know as 'EI Guajiro'
I started playing at
the age
So I've been playing the trumpet
for years
It was great playing with
all the compa?ros
If it hadn't been for the Buena Vista,
they would have been forgotten
No one would remember Ibrahim,
Ruben, Compay Segundo
To see Compay, at the age of
playing the tres so well
And Ruben playing the piano
I think this is the key to
the success of these recordings
My name is Barbaro Alberto
Torres Delgado
In musical jargon, everyone
knows me as 'Barbarito Torres'
I've played Cuban country music
since I was ten
I play the laud, which is
Arabic in origin
The Moors took it to Spain
where it was modified
There they made a laud
with a longer neck
The medieval troubadours
introduced it to Cuba...
...where is modified again
This resulted in the Cuban laud
which is the one I play
Tula's bedroom
has gone up in flames
She fell asleep
without blowing out the candle
Call the firemen
Bring lots of hoses
Tell them Tula's bedroom
has gone up in flames
Barbarito is on the loose!
He's crazy
Arrest him
My name is Pio Leyva
'EI Montunero de Cuba'
My name is Manuel Licea,
'Puntillita'
Domino! Can't you see
I'm a phenomenon?
You can't beat me, Puntillita
At dominoes, I'm number one
You might be the best singer.
But at dominoes, I'm the best
- Shall we join them?
- Wait till they call us
Hey, come to the studio!
Now I'm thrashing this guy at
dominoes, I must go to the studio
- OK, you're winning three-two
- We'll continue later
Let's see how the recording
is going
- See? You can't play with me
- Man, give me a chance
I'm happy to have had
the opportunity...
...to co-ordinate and take part in
this project
It's brought together all the
great names of Cuban music...
...who'd been practically
forgotten here
People like Ruben Gonzalez...
...one of the three greatest
son piano players of all times
Ibrahim Ferrer, one of the greatest
Cuban singers ever...
...who had sadly been forgotten
for more than ten years
And people like Puntillita,
Pio Leyva...
...Compay Segundo, Eladies Ochoa
This album will have
an enormous impact...
...on Cuban music
Recording, please
There's a party at the ranch
of compadre Don Ram?
The roast pig is ready.
The locals are on their way
They're bringing the house down
for Don Ram?'s birthday
The Comay dancers are coming.
All the roads are jammed
The bongo, triple and guiro
have all begun to play
Your kisses rained down
in a tempest of love...
With uncontrollable desires
tojoin our lives in love
Yet in spite of it all
Your departure was my downfall
The end of all my dreams
And they will not be revived
unless that day returns
That day...
...of our last meeting...
...in love
Whenever I ask you
how, when and where...
...you always answer
"Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps"
Look, what a beautiful building
It's extraordinary
- And these avenues are so beautiful
- Just imagine!
You're calling Cuba?
So much activity
Look at the gun that guy has
All the greats are there
That's Charlie Chaplin
- Laurel and Hardy. Remember them?
- The fat guy and the thin guy
And this is one of the
great trumpet players
Which one is he?
Who was the greatest
trumpet player?
The one who used to
play under the stars
And played the highest note ever
at that time
This one was blind, remember?
- He was a pianist. And her?
- She must have been famous
It says it here
They're all here
- Who's the one in the middle?
- The one with the saxophone?
See if I can remember his face
This is the life!
This is so beautiful
You can see the whole of New York
from up here, like from the plane
There's a plane taking off now
They won't fly over
this building
Where is the Statue of Liberty?
I thought the Statue of Liberty
had a crown
You can't see it from here.
You should look through the viewer
You can't see the crown
from here
Yes, you need to get closer
- At least we know where it is
- That's right
Let's move into the sun
You want sun? Let's go
Ruben, had you ever been here?
- Yes, many years ago
- Who were you with?
Oh no, not up here.
I went to the Statue
- But who did you go with?
- With some tourists
Was that in the s?
I don't know. I was about
and now I'm
I want you to know
this is the first time...
...that I find myself in New York,
in the US
I've always longed...
... to see this city
I'm not an American,
And I can't speak English
But I'll learn a few words soon
So I can hold my own
in this place
I wish I could bring my wife
and children to see this
So they could see how
beautiful it is
This is so lovely, so lovely
Look, Radio City
At least I'm getting to see it
I'm. so happy to be here.
I never could have imagined
So beautiful. I'm. really happy
About two years ago
I decided to retire
I didn't want to sing any more
I was very disillusioned
Life can be very hard
I was tired of singing and
not earning anything
I tell you, my staff is
like my mother
It's been with me for years
And that's how long
my mother's been dead
This Revolution is eternal
We believe in dreams