Piñata Music Series: Eliades Ochoa

Eliades Ochoa approaches his eighties as a true institution of Cuban music in the last century. He grew up listening to sones montunos and guarachas, was part of the Cuarteto Patria, and was a member of the most renowned lineup of the Buena Vista Social Club (with which he won a Grammy in 1997 for Best Tropical Music Album). He also recorded with a group of Malian musicians (Toumani Diabaté, Bassekou Kouyaté, and Baba Sissoko) for the historic album Afrocubism (2010), hailed by National Geographic as the “best album in the world.” These two milestones in his discography were essential contributions. However, that doesn’t mean he rests on his laurels. This year, he presents Guajiro (2023), his latest album, a superb work in which he unveils his entire life and turns it into music without prejudice, featuring collaborations with diverse artists such as Charlie Musselwhite, Rubén Blades, and Joan Wasser (Joan As Police Woman). It is the latest creative feat of this Cuban Johnny Cash, who has also collaborated throughout his career with Bob Dylan, Manu Dibango, C. Tangana, Bunbury, Jarabe de Palo, among many others. He is a living legend.