For more than thirty years Barbarito Torres has ranked among the most formidable instrumentalists to emerge from Cuba’s guajiro heritage. On the laoud, the island’s distinctive lute, he has performed with an array of ensembles throughout Havana and across the rural provinces.
His professional path opened in 1970 when he joined Serenata Yumunina, the ensemble directed by Higinio Mullens. Military service called in 1973, placing him in both the marching band and the army jazz orchestra; three years later he received his discharge and toured with Siembra Cultural, the collective later known as Grupo Yarabi. He eventually established himself in Havana as a permanent member of Orquesta Cubana de Cuerdas while also undertaking session and backup duties alongside such leading figures as Albita, Sierra Maestra, and Elio Reve. He next accepted the post of musical director with Celina Gonzalez and Grupo Campoalegre, simultaneously appearing with Grupo Manguare and recording and touring under both banners.
Torres remained with Gonzalez through 1995, yet from 1992 onward he had already begun shaping independent ventures, among them his own Piquete Cubano. The decisive step forward came through his work with the Afro Cuban All Stars and the Buena Vista Social Club; the self-titled debut releases of both groups attracted global notice and ignited a worldwide resurgence of interest in Cuban music. The ensembles collected multiple honors, among them the 1998 Grammy awarded to the Buena Vista Social Club album. In 2000 Torres issued his first solo recording, Havana Caliente, which reunited him with several colleagues from those earlier projects, notably Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portuondo, and Luis Mirabel.
