A Taste of Old Cuba; since First Finding Fame at the Age 70 with the Buena Vista Social Club, Cuban Singer Ibrahim Ferrer Has Gone on to Become a Grammy-Winning International Superstar. but, He Tells Stephen Burgen, It's Never Too Late for Success

Burgen, Stephen, The Evening Standard (London, England)

Byline: STEPHEN BURGEN

Ibrahim Ferrer sits in the bar of the Frankfurt Hilton, dressed in one of his trademark Kangol caps and a loud shirt. A gold watch and a gold bangle are the only marks of ostentation. He eyes the tumbler of cognac and then dips the first finger of his right hand in the glass and rubs a drop on his right hip and then repeats the process with his left. Another drop goes on the head of his mother's walking stick which has accompanied him everywhere since she died 64 years ago. Finally he tips the glass on its side and lets one small drop fall to the floor. These are offerings to the saints.

Ferrer is an adherent of Santeria, the Afro-Cuban take on Christianity, and he says it is faith and the bolero that has got him - finally - where he is today.

It is now six years since Ry Cooder, …

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Publication information: Article title: A Taste of Old Cuba; since First Finding Fame at the Age 70 with the Buena Vista Social Club, Cuban Singer Ibrahim Ferrer Has Gone on to Become a Grammy-Winning International Superstar. but, He Tells Stephen Burgen, It's Never Too Late for Success. Contributors: Burgen, Stephen - Author. Newspaper title: The Evening Standard (London, England). Publication date: May 29, 2003. Page number: 30. © Not available. COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group.

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