by Craig Harris\r Directed by ex-Sierra Maestra drummer Juan De Marcos Gonzalez, the Afro-Cuban All Stars have been essential to the growing worldwide popularity of Afro-Cuban music. Their 1997 album, A Toda Cuba Le Gusta, was the first to be recorded during the now-legendary Buena Vista Social Club sessions. A multi-generational big band, with members ranging in age from 13 to 81, the Afro-Cuban All Stars incorporate the full spectrum of Latin dance music, including mambo, cha cha, salsa, rumba, son montuno, timba, guajira, danzón, abakuá, and bolero. During a late-90s interview, Gonzalez explained, We have to use all the heritage of Cuban music to create a sound of the future. Gonzalez, who holds a doctorate in hydraulic engineering and Russian and has worked as a consulate at the Agronomic Science Institute in Havana, formed the Afro-Cuban All Stars shortly after the disbanding of Sierra Maestra, the group with whom he had attracted...