TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa-based dancer born in Havana, Cuba, is performing on a Broadway tour — and now he’s bringing the show to his new home. Jhon Luis Destrade Delgado is an ensemble dancer on Broadway's Buena Vista Social Club, which is performing at the Straz Center this week.
Watch report from Annette Gutierrez:
Destrade left Cuba in 2023 and built a new life in Tampa, eventually becoming a principal dancer with the Tampa City Ballet. Now, he is bringing his Cuban roots to the stage in a show that transports audiences to Cuba — from the golden age of music in the 1950s to its revival in the 1990s.
"It's a dream come true. It's a Cuban show and I'm Cuban, so yeah, it's super exciting," Destrade said.
His passion for dance traces back to his childhood in Havana, where music and movement were part of family life.
"It's come from my family. My mom was a dancer from the Tropicana Cabaret and my dad was a musician the same," Destrade said.
At 13, Destrade took the skills he learned at home to Cuba's National Dance School, where he studied ballet and contemporary dance. His family quickly recognized his talent.
"I started dancing by myself and then my mom said like, hmm, you can do it professionally and I started doing it and I started liking it," Destrade said.
When he left Cuba in 2023, his first priority wasn't dance — it was helping his family.
"When I came here, the only thing that happened in my brain was like you need to like work and help your family. All my family is in Cuba, so I live alone here," Destrade said.
But his mom didn't want him to give up on his passion.
"And my mom told me one day, said like you can't stop dancing. That's what you do. You study this, you work on this, so why you stop dancing now," Destrade said.
He listened.
Destrade eventually became a principal dancer with the Tampa City Ballet, where he discovered just how deeply his homeland's culture is woven into his adopted city.
"I never realized that Tampa had that much Cuban culture here. I never realized that," Destrade said.
Now, he's taking those roots to the Broadway stage — and reflecting on the first time he rehearsed with the show.
"That was a special moment," Destrade said. "That was like time traveling when I was a kid with my grandma back in Cuba dancing."
For Destrade, Buena Vista Social Club is about more than Cuban music and dance. He says its message will resonate with anyone who has come to the United States searching for a second chance.
"It's about love, it's about second chance, second opportunity. And a lot of people that came to the U.S., they came for a second opportunity, so they're gonna feel so connected that that I'm excited to show them what we have here.... Buena Vista Social Club has the magic to make you feel at home," Destrade said.
For Destrade, performing in the show is also a deeply personal expression of gratitude to all of those who believed in him.
"I think more than everything is my way to say thank you," he said.
He also has a message for Tampa's arts community.
"I feel that in general we need to support more the art here. I would love to see Tampa City Ballet dancing here too. I mean, Broadway is a big opportunity in my life, and everybody's life, but I also feel that Tampa needs more support to the artists in general," Destrade said.
Buena Vista Social Club runs through Sunday at the Straz Center. For tickets and more information, click here.
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