By The Associated Press

          HAVANA (AP) -- As his gnarled hands pounded the keys of the
          Russian-made concert piano in the Karl Marx theater, octogenarian
          Ruben Gonzalez flashed a wide smile.

          Gonzalez and the rest of the mostly elderly members of the Buena Vista
          Social Club said they were delighted to be back home to share their
          music with their compatriots after playing to sold-out concerts in the
          United States and Europe.

          ``In your own land, one always feels better,'' said Gonzalez, a smallish
          man with white cropped hair and a bright orange guayabera shirt who
          gave his age as ''83, or 84.''

          ``I like going over there, but I like it more here,'' Gonzalez added during
          the Thursday evening rehearsal for their first public concert in Cuba on
          Friday night.

          As the concert got under way Friday, concertgoers said they were
          excited to see some of Cuba's most-heralded musicians perform.

          ``They're really great. We were never introduced to this music,'' said
          David Cardenas, 33. ``I'm so glad they are now bringing us the music of
          our parents and our grandparents.''

          Caridad Arrozalena, 58, said she came to see the group because she had
          remembered some of the singers and musicians when they first performed
          30 or 40 years ago.

          Although they have gained fame around the globe in recent years for their
          music and the documentary ``Buena Vista Social Club,'' most of the
          musicians are virtually unknown in Cuba, where their music has not been
          publicized and marketed.

          The 90-something-year-old Cuban musician Francisco Repilado, who
          plays under the name ``Compay Segundo,'' is among the few participants
          on the Buena Vista recordings well known here. But Repilado has his
          own band and performs in Cuba occasionally.

          The Buena Vista group is made up of once nearly-forgotten musicians
          who were discovered by American guitarist and producer Ry Cooder in
          the late 1990s.

          The group's forte is the ``son'' -- traditional Afro-Cuban orchestra music
          heavy in brass and percussion. They also play the more romantic,
          Spanish-influenced bolero and the danzon -- dance music with an urgent
          telegraph-like beat.

          The Buena Vista Social Club performed on the island twice last year to
          small invitation-only audiences, group members say, but has never held a
          concert for the general Cuban public. Tickets went on sale earlier this
          week, at 50 cents for Cubans and $10 for foreigners.

          The group's first album, ``Buena Vista Social Club,'' was an instant
          international sensation when it was released in 1997. They later released
          ``Buena Vista Social Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer,''
          ``Introducing...Ruben Gonzalez,'' and the new ``Buena Vista Social Club
          Presents Omara Portuondo,'' all on the World Circuit/Nonesuch label.

          The albums have repeatedly appeared on Billboard's Top 10 lists for
          world and Latin music. The latest, featuring female singer Portuondo,
          appears this week on Billboard's Top 10 list for Latin albums.

          The group's fame increased with its appearance in the concert film of the
          same name. The movie by German filmmaker Wim Wenders was
          nominated for an Oscar this year in the documentary category.

          Last month, ``Buena Vista Social Club'' remained on the list of top video
          sales in the United States.

          The group will continue its touring on Monday, when it leaves for its first
          visit to Japan, said singer Ibrahim Ferrer, 73, one of the group's top
          names, along with Gonzalez and Portuondo. Later this year, the group
          will travel to South America for the first time, he said.

          ``But I'm really happy now to be able to play in my own country,'' Ferrer
          said.

          ``Our music is known all around the world, but we have been so busy
          traveling we have not been able to perform in our own country,'' added
          Portuondo as she sat in a theater seat listening Thursday night to the
          keyboard gymnastics of Gonzalez, whom she described as ``a true
          Cuban legend.''

          ``It may be our first concert here,'' she said, beaming up at her fellow
          musicians on the stage. ``But it won't be our last.''