‘Beyond a blessing’: Natalie Venetia Belcon on starring as Omara Portuondo in ‘Buena Vista Social Club’
Natalie Venetia Belcon’s journey with Buena Vista Social Club started long before she starred in the off-Broadway production of the new musical in 2023. Her parents, both professional musicians — her father was a trumpet player, and her mother is a classical pianist — introduced her to the 1997 album of classic Cuban songs performed by the island’s most influential musicians. The musical, which opened on Broadway on March 19 at the Schoenfeld Theatre, incorporates the acclaimed music into a book musical about exactly how the original album came to fruition. Belcon recently joined Gold Derby to discuss her starring role in the production and the personal resonances of the story.
In Buena Vista Social Club, Belcon portrays the legendary Cuban vocalist and dancer Omara Portuondo. Even though Belcon has been listening to Portuondo's music for decades, the actress immersed herself and continues to research the extraordinary life of the woman she embodies eight times a week. “I asked everything, I watched everything, I watched everything multiple times, I still watch Adios, the documentary, I still daily listen to the music,” she says of her ongoing research process. Portuondo attended the Broadway opening at the age of 94, an experience Belcon describes as “really, really something else," sharing, "I felt like I was standing outside of myself." The legendary musician was “swarmed” with attention, so the actress did not get to speak with her extensively, though if she had the chance to do so now, she would ask her, "What is her happiest memory, and what's her saddest memory?"
The audience response to Buena Vista Social Club's onstage Cuban band is explosive, especially since so many people come to the show already knowing and loving these songs. Belcon reports that she does indeed feel the electric energy in the room each day. "It's an emotional show. I'm wiped out at the end of the show," explains the actress, though she shares that the music "takes me where I need to be. All I need to do is listen, listen to them, listen to the intricacies, to what I'm saying. That's really all I need."
One of the standout moments in the production for both the musicians and Belcon is “Candela,” a song from the 1940s composed by Faustino Oramas about a love affair he had with a married woman and her husband's pursuit of him. In the production, the album's producer Juan de Marcos (Justin Cunningham) has written new arrangements for this critical song, but Omara does not approve of his instrumentation, including the addition of a flute solo. As the band plays the song, however, the audience sees Omara persuaded of its effectiveness in real time, which Belcon signals when Omara starts dancing passionately to the music. The actress shares that every time the band performs “Candela,” it is a little bit different, and that helps inspire her performance. She shares, “I’m literally responding to what they’re giving me, and it’s not hard because I’ve never heard them be bad … some nights are more fire than others, which is hard to believe.” Occasionally, she explains, "The tempo is a little faster, and I was living my life, and those are the things that I love, and that makes it extra spicy because you're not expecting that tempo."
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Buena Vista Social Club largely focuses on Omara’s process of deciding whether to participate on the album. Her hesitation stems from her experiences in the 1950s during the Cuban Revolution, and the musical takes the audience back in time to see her (Isa Antonetti plays Young Omara) and her sister, Haydee, start their careers in this tumultuous moment in history. As the older Omara weighs whether to sing on the record, numerous characters warn her that “old songs… kick up old feelings.” This particular sentiment from the show resonates very strongly with Belcon. Through tears, she recollects listening to the original Buena Vista Social Club album with her parents, sharing, “I automatically go back to being in the kitchen and we’re cooking and they’re playing the album and they’re music nerds, so they have to stop and play that part over and discuss. … The two of them dancing, they were very much in love.” She adds that starring in Buena Vista is "bittersweet" because her father passed away in 2017, "so those memories come up, and it's sad that he's not here to see it all." Her mother has yet to see the show, but she says that once she has the chance, "it'll be beautiful."
These personal memories make the experience of starring in Buena Vista Social Club particularly moving for Belcon. She reveals, "Being able to do this, I need to come up with a word for 'beyond a blessing,' literally beyond a blessing, further than a blessing. I can't believe it every show, I can't believe I'm actually standing there getting to play her and getting to represent them. My parents are always in the back of my head."
One of Belcon’s best scenes comes late in the musical, in which Omara, still undecided about whether to participate in the recording of the album, revisits the dusty, abandoned Buena Vista Social Club. She begins to sing “Dos Gardenias,” a romantic melodrama, a cappella before she receives a visit from her deceased sister Haydee (Ashley De La Rosa), who died six years prior. Even though Omara feels that “there’s no more music in me,” her sister convinces her otherwise. Belcon describes the scene as “very cathartic,” explaining, “I had my moment when my father passed. ... I was angry about it, I was really upset and angry. That moment for me, every night, is dealing with all of the hurt and anger. … it is healing, it is therapeutic.”
Belcon has already received awards recognition for her performance. In 2024, she took home the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical. “I barely remember the night,” she recalls with a huge laugh, continuing, “My name was called, and I froze a little bit.” The actress had attended the Lortel Awards, which recognize excellence in off-Broadway theater, before for the original production of Avenue Q, in which she originated the role of Gary Coleman, though she was not individually nominated at the time. But she shares of the recognition for Buena Vista Social Club, “I am still elated that I was given that” prize.