A young singer from Camagüey achieved what seemed impossible: turning a video recorded in the street, using a portable speaker and intermittent internet access, into a genuine collaboration with Nicky Jam, one of the biggest stars in global reggaeton.
Raudel Gómez Hernández, artistically known as Shadow, is 26 years old and lives with his partner and their newborn daughter amidst scarcity, economic difficulties, and the frequent blackouts that plague Camagüey, one of the provinces most affected by the Cuban energy crisis in 2026.
In February of this year, with just 12,000 followers on Instagram, Shadow took advantage of one of the rare moments with internet connection to post a video where he performed a snippet of his composition "La Foto" and asked viewers to tag Nicky Jam, his biggest artistic inspiration.
The video reached the artist's profile. Moved by the story and the talent of the young artist from Camagüey, Nicky Jam personally reached out to him, and from that initial contact, a collaboration began to take shape until it became a real release.
The single "La Foto" premiered last Wednesday with an exclusive release on Billboard en Español, distributed by Plus Media Music and EMM.
The music video, directed by Mechu Recvoluxion and Nova Films, was filmed in two locations: the part featuring Shadow in Playa Santa Lucía, Camagüey, and Nicky Jam's part in Miami.
Musically, the song blends acoustic guitars with afrobeats and a Caribbean vibe. The lyrics, which are romantic in nature, revolve around attraction and the courage to make the first move, featuring lines like "I wrote to her that I loved her" and "You've got me liking your photo."
The production was handled by Jorge Miliano, the recording engineering was done by Carlos Ariel Jiménez Jorge, and the mixing and mastering were done by Javier Delgado. The credited composer is Raudel Gómez Hernández himself.
The context from which Shadow released his video is not a minor detail. Camagüey has experienced at least six total blackouts so far in 2026, with entire neighborhoods without electricity for more than ten days and a national generation deficit that exceeded 2,280 MW during the nighttime peak just days before the release.
That reality —which hampers access to the internet and any creative activity— is the backdrop from which a resourceful young person decided to take to the streets with a speaker and pursue their dream.
The story of Shadow is part of a growing trend of Cuban artists in the urban genre who have gained international recognition through digital virality, but with an additional dimension: achieving a collaboration with a global superstar without leaving Cuba and with minimal resources.
"More than a collaboration between two artists, 'La Foto' represents the power that social media still has to change lives when talent meets an opportunity," states the press release for the launch.
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