The Cuban musician Alain Pérez offered a nuanced opinion on the Cuban music scene in a video published by the Instagram account ENRUMBAO, dedicated to salsa and timba, in which he acknowledged the technical limitations of the genre but admitted its undeniable power to connect with new generations.
"The cast doesn't offer anything interesting; it's a trend, it's a light genre, it doesn't provide anything technically and it's nothing complicated," Pérez stated in the clip, which was released on Wednesday and garnered hundreds of reactions from the show's followers.
However, the musician was clear in distinguishing between the artistic value of the genre and its effectiveness as a mass phenomenon: "The movement, as it draws a language, and arises from the youth, connects, connects and moves the masses, my brother, and there's no stopping that."
The statement summarizes a position that many academically trained musicians privately share but rarely express so openly: the distribution may be technically simple, but its ability to engage young people makes it a cultural phenomenon that cannot be overlooked.
The only point where Pérez openly expressed his criticism was regarding the obscene and vulgar lyrics that characterize some representatives of the genre: "What I don't like about the music is the vulgarity; I agree with that, I've said it a thousand times."
This position is not new for him; the musician himself acknowledged having expressed it on multiple occasions, suggesting a coherent line of thought regarding the limits of language in popular music.
The Cuban reparto is an urban genre that emerged around 2007 in the working-class neighborhoods of Havana, especially in Arroyo Naranjo. It fuses reggaeton with timba, rumba, and guaguancó.
Its pioneers were Elvis Manuel and Chocolate MC, and in 2025-2026 it experiences its greatest international expansion, with Oniel «Bebeshito» as the central figure and reference of the genre both inside and outside of Cuba.
The debate over the distribution has generated recurring controversies. In August 2025, producer Roberto Ferrante sparked a strong controversy by stating that Bebeshito was "bigger" than Celia Cruz and Benny Moré, a comparison that ignited the debate over the artistic value of the genre against the great names of Cuban music.
Disputes regarding the appropriation of the genre have also arisen among artists such as El Uniko, Dale Pututi, and Alexander Delgado from Gente de Zona.
Alain Pérez, trained at the Manuel Saumell Conservatory and graduated from the National School of Art, was part of Irakere and served as the musical director for Isaac Delgado, which adds special weight to his analysis of a genre rooted in popular culture and characterized by a simple technique.
His album "Bingo" (2025) was nominated for the 2026 Grammy in the Best Tropical Latin Album category, featuring collaborations with Tito Nieves, Luis Enrique, and Gilberto Santa Rosa, which places it in stark contrast to the distribution's aesthetic but does not prevent him from acknowledging its cultural strength.
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