“Buena Vista Social Club” takes to the basketball court: Broadway and the New York Liberty celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month together

Theater and sport met in one of New York’s biggest arenas: the New York Liberty women’s basketball team and the Broadway musical “Buena Vista Social Club” celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month together during the annual “Noche Latina” night, held on Monday, September 21, at Barclays Center, during the game against the Atlanta Dream, as Playbill reports.

According to Playbill, the WNBA league’s entertainment department, led by senior entertainment director Criscia Long, collaborated with the Broadway production to bring a piece of the musical to the game’s halftime show. The production’s choreography supervisor, Yani Marin, personally taught the Liberty’s entertainment and animation group, “Torch Patrol”, the choreography of the number “Candela” — choreography that has won the Tony Award.

In the interview for Playbill, Long said that “Buena Vista Social Club” seemed a natural partner, because the production “celebrated Cuban music and culture with extraordinary authenticity” and that the team wanted to bring that energy from the Broadway stage to their court “in a festive, culturally rooted and fully at home way” at a Liberty game — especially during the “Noche Latina” celebration.

Torch Patrol learned the choreography in just two rehearsals with Marin, Playbill notes, adapting the movements in Broadway style for a sports arena, but preserving fidelity to what makes the original piece so special. “They weren’t just learning choreography — they were being entrusted to help bring a culturally significant piece of storytelling to a new audience,” Long said.

And to open the “Noche Latina” celebrations, “Buena Vista” star Isa Antonetti sang the national anthem before the start of the game. Long hopes that new fans from Latino communities will see their culture celebrated on one of New York’s biggest stages — and according to her, such collaborations open new opportunities for the way the Liberty will approach cultural nights and creative partnerships in the future.