Eliades Ochoa

On 27 October 2026 Eliades Ochoa will perform at TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht. The singer‑guitarist from the area around Santiago de Cuba connects the rural heritage of the island’s east with the urban scene of his birthplace. His musical language includes son cubano, guajira, bolero and guaracha. Characteristic are his deep voice and a guitar style that relies on patterns related to the tres. In the late 1970s he joined Cuarteto Patria, later becoming its bandleader, with whom he developed a repertoire of traditional Cuban music and began touring internationally.

His participation in the Buena Vista Social Club project in 1997, including the track “Chan Chan,” brought that work to an audience beyond Cuba. Since then Ochoa has regularly sought dialogue through collaborations and recordings with the likes of Manu Dibango, Ry Cooder, Charlie Musselwhite and Toumani Diabaté, and with Spanish artists such as Bunbury and C. Tangana. On stage he draws on son and trova, with an emphasis on rhythm, melody and ensemble interplay.