Buena Fe

There is little that’s revolutionary, either politically or musically, about Buena Fe, the Cuban duo of Rojas Fiel and Yoel Martínez Rodríguez. Perhaps that’s because the two are truly products of the studiously apolitical pop music scene in late Castro Cuba; they formed as a musical act in 1999 and remain based in Havana. These issues, however, are probably of little importance to their fans stateside, most of whom are young, recent arrivals who just want to hear sweet, romantic music. And at creating that, Buena Fe excels.

Some scholars have classified the act as sonic descendants of trova, a style popular on the island from the ’60s to the ’80s whose lyrics focused on social realism. There are, perhaps, traces of that genre in Buena Fe’s acoustic, guitar-driven songs. With full instrumentation, though, their numbers are more or less straightforward, even syrupy ballads. Perhaps that’s why, unlike other “nueva trova” performers on the island, Buena Fe has gone more or less unmolested in its trajectory to relative stardom. The group will play a rare show in Miami this Sunday at the Fillmore Miami Beach, which, so far, doesn’t seem to have raised the hackles of the usual bands of protesters.