Ay candela, candela, candela, me quemo aé.
Puso un baile un jutía, para una gran diversión.
De timbalero un ratón, que alegraba el
campo un día.
Un gato también venía, elegante y placentero,
'Buenas noches, compañero'
siempre dijo así el timbal
'Para alguien aquí poder tocar,
para descansar un poco'.
Salió el ratón medio loco,
'también voy a descansar'.
Y el gato en su buen bailar, bailaba un
danzón liviano.
El ratón se subió al guano, y dice
bien placentero:
¡Y ahora si quieren bailar, búsquense
otro timbalero!
Ay candela, candela, candela, me quemó aé.
Oye, Faustino Orama' y sus compañeros,
necesito que me apaguen el fuego.
Margarita llama pronto a los bomberos para
que vengan a apagar el fuego.
Oye, si estás perdida llama a los siete ceros,
y asi vendrán más pronto los bomberos.
Ay candela, candela, candela, me quemo aé,
mama ¡Aaaay!
Tilán tilán
Didilán didilán
Margarita que me quemo
Yo quiero seguir gozando
La candelame está llevando
Me gusta seguir guarachando
Esta tarde venimo' acabando
Como quiera venimo' tocando
La mujer cuando se agacha
Se le abre el entendimiento
La mujer cuando se agacha
Se le abre el entendimiento
Y el hombre cuando la mira
Se le para el pensamiento
De tí me gusta una cosa
Sin que me cueste trabajo
De tí me gusta una cosa
Sin que me cueste trabajo
De la barriga pa'rriba, de la cintura pa'bajo
Mira se quema, se quema, mama
Mira se quema, se quema, oye
Mira mama que me quemo
Mira llama pronto a los bomberos, para que
vengan a apagar el fuego
Mira que el fuego me está quemando
Y yo quiero seguir guarachando
Mira se quema Báyamo, mira que Songo
está que arde
Mira se quema La Maya, mira ese pito
que suena.
Malaguën está que corta mama
Santiago de Cuba está que te mete en llamas
Se quema, se quema, se quema, oye, mira
me quemo, me quemo.
Mira que me quemo, oye, yo quiero
seguir guarachando.
Mira mama que yo vengo quemando.
Faustino Orama' tú está acabando
Mira se quema, se quema
Pero mira mi mami se quema
Oye se quema, se quema
Buena Vista Social Club was a musical ensemble primarily made up of Cuban musicians, formed in 1996. The project was organized by World Circuit executive Nick Gold, produced by American guitarist Ry Cooder and directed by Juan de Marcos González. They named the group after the members' club of the same name in the Buenavista quarter of Havana, a popular music venue in the 1940s. To showcase the popular styles of the time, such as son, bolero and danzón, they recruited a dozen veteran musicians, some of whom had been retired for many years.
The group's eponymous studio album was recorded in March 1996 and released in September 1997, quickly becoming an international success, which prompted the ensemble to perform with a full line-up in Amsterdam and New York in 1998. German director Wim Wenders captured the performance on film for a documentary—also called Buena Vista Social Club—that included interviews with the musicians conducted in Havana. Wenders' film was released in June 1999 to critical acclaim, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary feature and winning numerous accolades including Best Documentary at the European Film Awards. This was followed up by a second documentary Buena Vista Social Club: Adios in 2017.
The success of both the album and film sparked a revival of interest in traditional Cuban music and Latin American music in general. Some of the Cuban performers later released well-received solo albums and recorded collaborations with stars from different musical genres. The "Buena Vista Social Club" name became an umbrella term to describe these performances and releases, and has been likened to a brand label that encapsulates Cuba's "musical golden age" between the 1930s and 1950s. The new success was fleeting for the most recognizable artists in the ensemble: Compay Segundo, Rubén González, and Ibrahim Ferrer, who died aged 95, 84, and 78 respectively; Compay Segundo and González in 2003, then Ferrer in 2005.
Several surviving members of the Buena Vista Social Club, such as tresero Eliades Ochoa, veteran singer Omara Portuondo, trumpeter Manuel "Guajiro" Mirabal, laúd player Barbarito Torres and trombonist and conductor Jesús "Aguaje" Ramos currently tour worldwide, with new members such as singer Carlos Calunga and pianist Rolando Luna, as part of a 13-member band called Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club.
