It’s the Case of the Battling Buena Vistas.
A lawsuit in Los Angeles Federal Court seeks to ban the hit Broadway musical “The Buena Vista Social Club” from using the name, The Post has learned.
The suit, filed Thursday by touring company Jesus “Aguaje” Ramos & His Buena Vista Orchestra, was a counter-attack to cease-and-desist warnings by powerful music agency BMG’s label World Circuit, which licenses its “Buena Vista Social Club” trademark to the Broadway production — and wants the orchestra to drop the similar-sounding title.
BMG has controlled the trademark since 1999, but the orchestra’s producers claim in the suit the that the agency used “fraud” to have it renewed in 2023.
The orchestra’s suit alleges BMG used “misrepresentations” in its trademark renewal application by saying it was for “live [concert] performances” — though the Broadway show is a stage musical based on a book, or script.
The show has played to full houses at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. Post critic Johnny Oleksinski praised it as “practically a jumbo jet to Havana” full of “transportive and intoxicating” music.
The feud, which began last year, turned into a legal mess when BMG lawyer Jonathan S. Pink warned the troupe in a March 13 letter that the orchestra’s “continuous use of ‘Buena Vista’ in connection with its musical performances and related marketing is unacceptable.”
Pink wrote that use of the Buena Vista name “by a spinoff band” would cause “consumer confusion.”
Steven Machat, producer of the orchestra tour, contends that BMG’s trademark is for the name “Buena Vista Social Club” — and not the term “Buena Vista,” which references a Havana neighborhood in Cuba where the dance-music style originated.
“They own four words together, but not the two alone,” Machat told The Post.
Machat’s nonprofit company SSK wants the judge to throw out BMG’s assertion of trademark infringement and is seeking a jury trial for its claim against BMG.
Machat, who previously worked with artists including Peter Gabriel, Genesis, and Snoop Dogg, said he’s gone the extra mile to clear up any confusion between his act and the Broadway show.
Last year, the orchestra sought a compromise by dropping “Social” from its name — but the move didn’t satisfy BMG.
“I’m very clear that we are not the Buena Vista Social Club,” he said.
SSK lawyer Michael Machat, Steven’s brother, wrote to BMG, “Buena Vista is a place just as New York is a place. There was a punk band called the New York Dolls. According to your logic, another band from New York is not permitted to call themselves the New York X, because New York is taken.”
The orchestra argues the name “Buena Vista” is commonly used by various entertainment companies, including the Disney studio and a traveling company called the Buena Vista All-Stars.
Pink had no immediate comment on the orchestra’s lawsuit.
The touring orchestra sold out many venues during its US and Canadian tour in 2024 and will have 50 more performances this year, possibly including a charitable event at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Both productions were inspired by the Grammy-winning 1997 album “The Buena Vista Social Club,” a compilation of Cuban dance music produced by American jazz composer and guitarist Ry Cooder.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
