The Afro-Cuban All Stars is a Cuban band led by… Read Full Bio ↴The Afro-Cuban All Stars
The Afro-Cuban All Stars is a Cuban band led by Juan de Marcos González (formerly tres player for Sierra Maestra). Their music is a mix of all the styles of Cuban music, including bolero, chachachá, salsa, son montuno, timba, guajira, danzón, rumba and abakua. They are known internationally for their 1997 album A Toda Cuba Le Gusta, which was recorded at the Buena Vista Social Club sessions. Members have included Rubén González, Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez, Ibrahim Ferrer, Raul Planas, Pío Leyva, Manuel "Puntillita" Licea, Yanko Pisaco and more recently Caridad Hierrezuelo and Pedro Calvo.
The Afro-Cuban All Stars is a unique orchestra that has always been devoted to promoting the full range of Cuban music, one that embraces several generations and all musical styles. Over the years many of the band’s musicians have become international stars, including brilliant performers such as Rubén González, Ibrahim Ferrer, Guillermo Rubalcava, and Manuel "The Guajiro" Mirabal.
The genesis of the Afro-Cuban All Stars has its roots early in the 1990s. At this time the son ensemble Sierra Maestra, headed by Juan de Marcos, received a lot of international exposure. As a consequence, de Marcos was introduced to Nick Gold, president of World Music Records (at that time a small independent world music label). That encounter led to a couple of very successful tours in Europe. Later the group went to London and recorded Dundumbanza, considered one of the jewels of the world music scene of the early ‘90s. (In retrospect, this recording opened the doors to the further incredible boom of the traditional Cuban music of the period.)
Months later, de Marcos got the go-ahead to do an album celebrating the classic Cuban sound of the ‘50s – a recording whose personnel would feature many great musicians that de Marcos knew. An agreement reached, the plan was to prepare two projects: one featuring a Cuban big band, the other record favoring a more traditional sound reminiscent of the acoustic style of Nico Saquito or Portabales.
In March 1996 they recorded the album A toda Cuba le Gusta, featuring nearly 60 performers. Then, with the addition of celebrated artists such as Compay Segundo, Omara Portuondo, Eliades Ochoa, and American guitarist Ry Cooder, what became the legendary Buena Vista Social Club CD was recorded. Finally, with low budget and only during two live sessions and with simple orchestrations carried out at the studio by de Marcos, they also recorded the first solo album of Rubén González, Introducing Ruben Gonzalez. This was destined to be one of the most successful of the “Buena Vista” series of recordings.
During the spring of 1997 and along with the release in Europe of the three albums, de Marcos and a select group of stellar musicians started touring all over the continent under the banner of a band christened the "Afro-Cuban All Stars." The original line up, familiar from the records, included Ruben González and Guillermo Rubalcava (piano), Orlando López (bass), Amadito Valdés (timbale), Carlos González and Roberto Valdés (bongos & cuban percussion), Ángel Terry (congas), Daniel Ramos, Alejandro Pichardo y “Guajiro” Mirabal (trumpets), Alberto “Molote” Martínez and Jesús “Aguaje” Ramos (trombones) and, Raúl Planas, Manuel Licea, Pío Leiva, Ibrahim Ferrer and Félix Baloy (lead singers).
After several years of tremendous and unexpected success – including four Grammy nominations, being the subject of several documentaries and films, and being recipients of many other distinctions – the All Stars are certainly the best-known and successful Cuban orchestra after Los Van Van and Irakere.
The Afro-Cuban All Stars has also opened the doors to a new generation by incorporating young musicians into the band. With The Afro-Cuban All Stars, de Marcos has developed a concept more so than simply creating a band. His approach has allowed him to expand its creative range by incorporating contemporary styles of Cuban music; as well, a fluid approach to adjusting the orchestra’s line-up by changing or adding musicians as appropriate has made it easier to reflect the different styles of music from the various periods that the band features. The Afro-Cubans are the same orchestra that can be seen in those distinct performances captured in the famous Oscar-nominated Buena Vista Social Club documentary by Wim Wenders, the Tony Knox documentary Salon of Dreams, or the DVDs Live in Japan or Live in The Hague.
In 2002, de Marcos founded his own independent label, DM Ahora! Records, with which he released the Afro-Cuban All Stars’ albums Live in Japan and Step Forward (which was Grammy nominated in 2006). He also released A Diario (Telmary) and Goza Pepillo (Interactivo), projects that represent a new generation of Cuban music, one that fuses hip-hop with contemporary Cuban genres. More recently de Marcos, along with his wife Gliceria Abreu, has founded, GG and LL, a musical production company based in Mexico City that aims to create a space for the new Latin American Music, especially that interpreted by songwriters.
The recent plans for the Afro-Cuban All Stars include the recording of the albums Breaking the Rules and Step Backward. This documents de Marcos’ latest project, where he has gathered the most remarkable expatriate Cuban musicians from around the world. This new version of the Afro-Cuban All Stars started touring internationally from February 2009 and its debut was in the United States, Singapore and Canada.
on the road again
Afro Cuban All Stars Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bandits joyeux, insolents et drôles.
On attendait que la mort nous frôle,
On the road again, again,
On the road again, again.
Au petit jour on quittait l'Irlande
Il fallait bien, un jour, qu'on nous pende.
On the road again, again,
On the road again, again.
La mer revient toujours au rivage.
Dans les blés mûrs, y a des fleurs sauvages.
N'y pense plus, tu es de passage.
On the road again, again,
On the road again, again.
Nous étions jeunes et larges d'épaules.
On attendait que la mort nous frôle.
Elle nous a pris, les beaux et les drôles.
Ami, sais-tu que les mots d'amour
Voyagent mal de nos jours.
Tu partira encore plus lourd.
On the road again, again,
On the road again, again.
The lyrics to Afro Cuban All Star's "On the Road Again" tells the story of a group of young and reckless friends who lived their lives on the run and constantly on the move. The opening lines describe them as young and full of energy, "larges d'épaules" or wide-shouldered, and as "bandits joyeux, insolents et drôles" or merry, insolent, and comical bandits. The line "on attendait que la mort nous frôle" translates to "we waited for death to brush past us," which highlights their carefree, reckless attitude towards life.
The chorus "on the road again" is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing the fact that they are always on the move. Despite their adventurous lifestyle, there is a sense of inevitability to their fate. The line "il fallait bien, un jour, qu'on nous pende" translates to "one day we had to be hanged," suggesting that their reckless behavior would eventually catch up to them. The second verse describes their departure from Ireland at dawn, with the land behind them growing brighter as they move further away. The line "elle nous a pris, les beaux et les drôles" means "it took us, the beautiful and the funny," again emphasizing the tragic fate that befalls them.
The final verse has a somber tone, with the lyrics speaking to the transience of life, and the difficulty of expressing love in the modern world. The line "ami, sais-tu que les mots d'amour voyagent mal de nos jours" means "friend, do you know that words of love don't travel well in our time," suggesting that the modern world is a difficult place to express love and affection. The final lines "tu partiras encore plus lourd" mean "you will leave even heavier," which speaks to the weight of all the experiences and memories that one carries with them throughout life.
Line by Line Meaning
Nous étions jeunes et larges d'épaules,
We were young and strong, with broad shoulders,
Bandits joyeux, insolents et drôles.
Joyful, insolent, and funny bandits.
On attendait que la mort nous frôle,
We waited for death to brush us by,
On the road again, again,
On the road again, over and over,
Au petit jour on quittait l'Irlande
At dawn we left Ireland,
Et, derrière nous, s'éclairait la lande.
And behind us, the moor lit up.
Il fallait bien, un jour, qu'on nous pende.
It was inevitable that we would be hanged someday.
La mer revient toujours au rivage.
The sea always returns to the shore.
Dans les blés mûrs, y a des fleurs sauvages.
In ripe wheat fields, there are wild flowers.
N'y pense plus, tu es de passage.
Don't think about it anymore, you're just passing through.
Nous étions jeunes et larges d'épaules.
We were young and strong, with broad shoulders.
On attendait que la mort nous frôle.
We waited for death to brush us by.
Elle nous a pris, les beaux et les drôles.
She took us, the beautiful and the funny.
Ami, sais-tu que les mots d'amour
Friend, do you know that words of love
Voyagent mal de nos jours.
Don't travel well these days.
Tu partira encore plus lourd.
You will leave even heavier.
On the road again, again,
On the road again, over and over.
Lyrics © BIG BROTHER COMPANY, Salut Ô Éditions, SO2 Édition, Quatryo Éditions, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Bernard Lavilliers, Sebastian Santa-Maria
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sin Palabras
_Compositeur : Sébastien Santa Maria. 🇨🇱
_Auteur: Bernard Lavilliers. 🇫🇷
"On The Road Again -Bernard Lavilliers 🇫🇷-Afro Cuban All Star 🇨🇺 "
Yerba Buena
feat. Bernard Lavilliers