Eliades Ochoa from Buena Vista Social Club

Once, Eliades Ochoa toured the world with the legendary Buena Vista Social Club; today, the singer, guitarist, and songwriter is considered one of the most significant artists from Cuba. With the music from his current album Guajiro, he brings nostalgic Latin flair to the festival hall.

Since the international success of the Buena Vista Social Club in the late 1990s, fans worldwide have been captivated by Cuban music such as Son, Danzón, Bolero, and Guajira. Building on this revival, Eliades Ochoa enchants the audience with his songs rooted in traditional Son Cubano, from which the life experience of a seasoned artist speaks. His distinctive appearance adds to this: a face marked by the school of life, a characteristic hat, cowboy boots, and black clothing. It is no coincidence that Ochoa is also referred to as "Cuba's Johnny Cash." He has not forgotten his origins: Yo soy guajiro ("I am a country boy") is the title of one of his songs that reflects Ochoa's childhood in the countryside. "Now feels like the right time for me to tell my stories," he says.

At the age of 50, Eliades Ochoa was one of the younger members of the Buena Vista Social Club. The project significantly contributed to increasing his international visibility, but Ochoa was already a successful musician before the Buena Vista Social Club – notably with the famous song Chan Chan, which had already established his career in the Cuban music scene. In 2012, he was awarded a Grammy for his album Un Bolero para Ti.