Buena Vista Social Club says adios

Three founders of the Buena Vista Social Club (from left to right) Guajiro Mirabal, Portuondo and Barbarito Torres chat in Hong Kong. Portuondo's tiny frame belies the sheer power of a sonorous voice that made her a star in Cuba well before she found global fame with the Buena Vista Social Club around the age most people start claiming their pensions. [Photo/Agencies]

\Omara Portuondo's tiny frame belies the sheer power of a sonorous voice that made her a star in Cuba well before she found global fame with the Buena Vista Social Club around the age most people start claiming their pensions.

Even as the group winds down with their final farewell "Adios Tour", the 85-year-old, who has been performing since she was just 15, insists she is not ready to hang up the mic.

"None of us could ever have imagined the great success of Buena Vista Social Club－we've achieved more than we could ever have dreamed of but it was time for the band to say goodbye," she tells AFP before the Hong Kong leg of the the tour.

But she is adamant: "Music is my life and I won't stop singing."

It has been 20 years since a twist of fate led American guitarist Ry Cooder and World Circuit's Nick Gold to Cuban star Juan de Marcos Gonzez, who encouraged a coterie of the island's musical talent－some out of retirement－to join together and create a record.

Crafted in just six days, the album Buena Vista Social Club－named after the long-closed members' only venue in Havana－sold millions, secured a Grammy, and along with Wim Wenders' Oscar-nominated film documenting its production, thrust Cuban music onto the international stage.