Manuel "Guajiro" Mirabal

Manuel "Guajiro" Mirabel played a supporting role in much of the Buena Vista Social Club's success, but he didn't step into the spotlight himself until 2005, at the tender age of seventy-one. His debut album focused on the same vintage Cuban music that made Buena Vista so appealing, but Mirabel narrowed the focus: the release is entirely devoted to songs by (or associated with) the groundbreaking Cuban trumpeter and band leader Arsenio Rodriguez. Mirabel picked up the trumpet at the age of eleven under the tutelage of his musician father. By eighteen he had turned professional and enjoyed long-running gigs with groups including the Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna and Rumbavana. He's also toured with major artists like Cheo Feliciano and Oscar d'Leon, and was part of the famed 1979 Estrellas de Areito descarga recording session.