José ‘Candelita’ Iglesias on Broadway Debut: “My Script Doesn’t Move”

José Iglesias has traded turning double plays on the diamond for hitting his marks on a Broadway stage. The Cuban-born infielder, who has spent 13 seasons in Major League Baseball while establishing a solo music career as Latin pop singer Candelita, is making his acting debut as the Narrator in Buena Vista Social Club for a six-week run at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre through Sunday, October 4.

So how does a career shortstop end up narrating one of the most decorated musicals on Broadway? “A touch of God,” Iglesias tells Ticketmaster on a call during his second week of performances.

While the invitation came as a surprise, the material did not. Iglesias grew up on the traditional Cuban music that fuels Buena Vista Social Club, from son cubano, danzón and descarga to guajira and bolero. “That music is in my blood,” he says. “It’s in my veins. It’s just part of my family.”

Even with his unique musical-athletic skill set and close personal connection to the musical’s roots, Iglesias has stepped into another high-pressure situation as the newcomer to an award-winning production inspired by the 1997 Grammy-winning album of the same name. Buena Vista Social Club has won five Tony Awards, including Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Natalie Venetia Belcon and a Special Tony Award for the Afro-Cuban band that plays onstage every night, along with the 2026 Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album.

Music fans and baseball fans alike also know Iglesias as Candelita, the stage name behind his Latin pop solo career, which launched with his debut single “Tambor” in 2023. One year later, Iglesias released “OMG” while playing for the New York Mets, and the Mets adopted the single as their home run celebration, playing it throughout their 2024 postseason run. Iglesias got his first taste of singing in front of a New York audience with a postgame performance at the Mets’ Citi Field in June 2024. The single hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Digital Song Sales chart that July. By taking on the Buena Vista role, Iglesias has become the first Latino MLB player to perform on Broadway.

His debut on Thursday, August 27 drew the musical’s co-producer Lin-Manuel Miranda, Marc Anthony and Juan de Marcos González, the legendary bandleader who assembled the musicians for the original Buena Vista Social Club album. Meanwhile, Iglesias has been watching the show just as closely from backstage. “Even now that I’m in the show, I have a little TV in the back, and I’m just enjoying it, watching the whole show from back there,” he says. “It’s that good.”

Despite his prominent role in the show, which includes speaking parts as well as singing with the cast on the Cuban standard “El Cuarto de Tula,” Iglesias is still a fan first. At curtain call during one of his first performances, Iglesias recalls feeling “so pumped about the show and all the musicians and the actors” that he started applauding them through the first bow. It was only after seeing reactions from his castmates that he realized, “‘Whoa, I’m part of it.’ And then I got the second [bow].”

The six-week engagement is speeding by, and Iglesias knows it. Fittingly, he sums up his theatrical experience in baseball terms: “I’m grabbing it with two hands and I won’t let it go like a ground ball.”

Below, Iglesias opened up to Ticketmaster about the surprise waiting for him on his debut night, the difference between athletic conditioning and pre-show prep, the messages he shares with his former teammates and more.

Congratulations on your Broadway debut. How do you feel with a week’s worth of shows under your belt?

Amazing. Every single show is magical. There’s such an adrenaline [rush] every time I’m on stage, and the music is so beautiful. I get to dance to hits — mega hits — and the energy in the theater is unique. I have never experienced anything like this before in my life.

How does it feel to be back in New York?

That’s special too; seeing all the New York Mets fans supporting and coming to the show, and seeing “OMG” in the middle of a Buena Vista Social Club show, and people bringing signs and flowers. It’s beautiful.

What led you to Broadway, and to accepting the role of the Narrator in Buena Vista Social Club?

A touch of God. I never dreamed or expected to be on Broadway, or acting, or any of that at all. My job was just to hit the ball, field the ball, throw the ball — and then sing. And then “OMG,” obviously, connected with all of us in 2024, and that kind of opened a huge door for me on the art side of it. And now Buena Vista has given me this great opportunity.

Clips from your debut night are already hitting the internet, including the surprise “OMG” homage during your intro. Did you know that was going to happen?

No. Renesito [Avich, the show’s tres player] is so good. The whole cast is amazing. He gets to do the solo, and he did “OMG.” That was special. It was organic. He did it organic. Wow. He’s so talented. But that’s what I’m saying: you never know what’s going to happen on that stage that night. So you’ve got to be alert.

Can fans expect that nod every night?

It depends. Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn’t. I guess it’s how he feels. That’s the beauty of it.

As the Narrator, your emotional connection is spread across the entire show rather than rooted in one character’s journey. How did you find that broad connection to the material?

I get to deliver this magnificent story from the bottom of my heart. And that’s the beauty of theater: being there in the first place, not as an actor, but as a human. Being a human on stage, for me, is the biggest acting class you can take. With all respect to everybody who goes to school — when you actually speak from the heart, when you’re actually being a human on stage, people connect with it.

And for me, delivering this story is so natural, because I love Buena Vista Social Club. I love the music. I love this story. That music is in my blood. It’s in my veins. It’s just part of my family.

What has it been like joining a Tony-winning cast and band? Have you built up any special bonds already?

From the get-go, the way the cast welcomed me — they were extremely excited, they were very helpful. Instead of being so tight, like, “This is what we have, this is who we are” — not at all. They opened their arms. They welcomed me in a way that gives me confidence to deliver on stage.

And they care. They care about Cuban music. They care about Buena Vista Social Club. They care about their audience every single night. They prepare, they work hard. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, and I have nothing but respect for this cast.

Have you picked up on any signs night to night that you’re performing for an audience that leans more toward baseball fans or die-hard Broadway fans?

Every night is different. You have to get a read on what kind of crowd you have, and it varies. Some nights it’s a baseball crowd, some nights it’s Broadway, sometimes it’s a combination of both. And it’s magical.

You’ve made history as the first Latino MLB player to perform on Broadway. What does this moment mean to you?

It means the world, because it’s not about me. It’s about representing Buena Vista Social Club. It’s about representing Cuba’s history, and that’s where I’m coming from. I’m representing sports, and I’m representing all of Latin America — immigrants. I’m one of them. I came to this country with a dream: to become a big league player.

It’s a unique opportunity, and like I always say, I’m grabbing it with two hands and I won’t let it go like a ground ball.

Has your experience with baseball conditioning helped with the physical demands of a Broadway performance?

It’s different. You exercise a different type of muscle. You exercise a different type of energy. The way you prepare is different. But they’re both a big responsibility.

In baseball, to play a game at 7 o’clock, I got to the ballpark around 12:30, one o’clock. I have lunch, I stretch, I go to the weight room, I get loose, I hit in the batting cage, I play catch, take ground balls, jump in the hot tub, get ready for the game. Here, I don’t need that much time. I go probably an hour before I walk on stage. I warm up my vocals, I review the script, and then I just vibe it out with the guys. Because at the end of the day, what we’re delivering is more than a story. It’s an energy.

Your engagement overlaps with an important stretch of the MLB season. Have you been able to keep up?

I’m leaning more toward players than teams, because I’ve created special relationships with players around the league. I watch games. If I see something, usually after the show I send them a text, like, “Hey, you’re loading late” or “Hey, how do you feel? How’s your recovery?”

And they ask me, “Hey, how’s Broadway?” I’m like, “Bro, way easier than hitting a sinker at 99. I’m telling you — when I’m on stage, my script doesn’t move, like that sweeper you swung at.” And then we’re laughing, and we have such a great time talking about what’s different and what’s the same.

There is a lot of talent in baseball; a lot of them play guitar and they do it for fun. So now I get to lead by example: “Hey guys, this is so much fun.” I hope in the future this opportunity opens doors for generations.

What advice would you give someone with similar ambitions?

Have fun, be you, be real. I think when you try to force something, it doesn’t go anywhere. When you help others genuinely from the heart, that will definitely show, and life will prepare something special for you when you try to help others and you’re not selfish.

That’s what happened in 2024. It wasn’t about “OMG.” It was about the New York Mets. It was about the city. It was about baseball. And we became a family. Same thing here. I’m doing this not just for me. I’m doing it for the fans. I’m doing it for Buena Vista. I’m doing it for generations to come — the ones who also play sports, who maybe have a dream to become an actor, to become a Broadway star. For me to be the guy who pushed that door open goes beyond a dream come true.

You still have a few weeks left on your Broadway run. What are you soaking in?

I appreciate this every single night. I just go one step at a time. I try to slow things down, because the show is so fun. It goes so fast. So I just go one day at a time. I try to be present and enjoy every single second of it.

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