Natalie Venetia Belcon on being a first-time Tony nominee for 'Buena Vista Social Club'

The actress, who plays real Cuban icon Omara Portuondo, has been nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical.

“It feels amazing,” said Natalie Venetia Belcon about receiving her first Tony Award nomination. The actress plays Omara Portuondo, a fictionalized version of the real Cuban music icon, in the sizzling musical Buena Vista Social Club.

“I’m smiling and happy and looking at the view!” a delighted Belcon told New York Theatre Guide after hearing the news of her Tony nomination. “I did it – at least I got this far.”

The acclaimed 1999 documentary movie Buena Vista Social Club followed an ensemble of great musicians from Cuba’s golden age brought together to record a Grammy-winning album, while also exploring their stories.

Now, Belcon is one member of the likewise talented and vivacious company who pay tribute to those legendary artists in the new hit Broadway show of the same name, which celebrates incredible Latin American musical styles such as son, bolero and danzón.

However, Belcon never even thought about getting Tony-nominated when she first came into this business, she explained. “It’s beyond words, really.” She added: “This is […] more than the cherry on the cake.”

Although there’s a rich history behind the Buena Vista story, Belcon is excited to welcome audiences who might not be familiar with it beforehand. “I think they’re the perfect candidates actually to come see the show because they don’t know anything. I think it will, as the kids say, hit better!”

Belcon compared the thrilling experience of watching the musical with an exhilarating plane ride. “You sit down and […] there’s the take-off […] and before you know, you’re in the air and then on the ground again. You’re not expecting what happens to you to happen, but you will absolutely enjoy yourself. You’re going to be taken through all the emotions.”

Most importantly, she said, “You cannot deny the music. You can’t deny them.” Now she’s going to be dancing all the way to the Tonys.

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Photo credit: Natalie Venetia Belcon in Buena Vista Social Club on Broadway. (Photo by Matthew Murphy)