Sierra Maestra are a Cuban band started in 1976. They sought to revive the 1920s classic son, which came from the mountain range on the east of Cuba, after which the band was named.
Their members included Juan de Marcos Gonzalez, before he left to join the Afro-Cuban All Stars and Jesus Alemany, who formed Cubanisimo. The band is still together.
They performed at the Glastonbury Festival (UK) in 2008.
Small Bio.
Sierra Maestra are the guardians of the Cuban son music tradition. They creatively preserved this infectious dance music and have gone on to be it’s finest performers. Always popular with dancers as well as listeners, they have played at clubs and festivals around the world to huge acclaim.
The band have played a hugely significant part in the recent global explosion in popularity of Cuban music. Indeed, their ex-leader, Juan De Marcos González was the man who created Buena Vista Social Club while still with the band.
Sierra Maestra have been stars of Cuban music ever since the late 1970s. They were the first group, and remain the best, of the modern era to play in the old-style son line-up: tres, guitar, trumpet, bongo, güiro and vocals - as during the great days of the 1920s and ‘30s. They have been the pioneers in reviving, and now redefining this style for new generations and reintroducing it into the Cuban mainstream. They named themselves after the mountain range in the eastern part of Cuba as a tribute to the birthplace of son.