One of the driving forces behind the Buena Vista Social Club™, Juan de Marcos González comes from a younger generation than most of its veteran stars, but it’s fair to say that the project could not have happened without him. From a famous musical family (his father sang with the legendary band leader Arsenio Rodríguez), his mission to keep alive the heritage of traditional Cuban music dates back to 1976, when as a young man of 22 he established the band Sierra Maestra. They went on to record 14 albums making their international debut with “Dundunbanza” on World Circuit in 1994. In 1996 he realised a long held ambition to record his Afro Cuban All Stars which included such musicians as Rubén González, Guajiro Mirabal and Pio Leyva. The day after completing that album he worked with Ry Cooder and Nick Gold to assemble the Buena Vista family of musicians. He was band leader for Buena Vista Social Club™’s only concert appearances at Amsterdam’s Carre and New York’s Carnegie Hall theatres. He has recorded further albums with The Afro Cuban All Stars and has led them on extensive tours around the world.