Alexander Delgado. A popular and renowned Cuban reggaeton singer. Founder, director, and main composer of the famous Cuban Musical Group Gente de Zona. He was born in the municipality of Alamar, in Havana City, on August 21, 1979.
With numerous followers both domestically and internationally, he has managed to develop a very distinctive and Creole style in his musical creations. Professional Career His story began long before the year 2000 when he was involved with Cuban hip-hop and regularly attended the Alamar Rap Festival in Havana. At first, he attended all the rap concerts and started doing sampling. It was precisely in the year 2000 that several rap artists, including Alexander, gathered in Alamar, a part of the capital known as the birthplace of Cuban hip-hop.
The name of the group, Gente de Zona, then became a clear indication of where they came from, as Alamar is divided into numbered zones. Alexander Delgado later met Michel, "el Caro," and both began performing at parties and official venues in Guanabacoa and Regla, but especially in Alamar, their territory.
In their early days as amateurs, they performed at various Cultural Houses such as those in Alamar, Guanabacoa, and Regla, but mainly at their hometown venue, where they quickly gained a following. They participated in the international rap festivals held annually in Cuba, with Alexander serving as the host for three consecutive years. Later, they became part of the Asociación Hermanos Saíz, and it wasn't until 2002 that they began their professional career with the Antonio María Romeu company, performing throughout the country.
In July 2005, Gente de Zona, still consisting of Alexander and Michel, joined the catalog of La Agencia Cubana de Rap, showcasing a more mature body of work within their genre, always blending it with our rhythms and taking into account the demands of the market. In 2005, Michel left the group and Jacob Forever joined, who came from the group "Made in Cuba" along with Nando Pro, a recognized music producer and DJ. With Gente de Zona, he was part of the album
The best that's sounding now vol II, with tracks like "She Likes Artists" and "The Animals," which topped the charts not only in Cuba but also in places like Miami and Europe, where they were recognized as leaders of Caribbean reggaeton. "I'm from Alamar, Nando is from Santa Fe, and we've been part of Cuban hip hop from the beginning. We dressed like other rappers but didn't sound like them. Our lyrics were more commercial."
Almost all of our songs come from the streets, from our personal experiences, but we didn't want our music to be limited to just one area. We wanted to convey our ideas and what we were doing musically to a broader audience, to all Cubans,” said on one occasion the founder and director of Gente de Zona. In 2006, the major hits "Soñé" and "La Campaña" were released, two superhits in Cuba and among fans of Cuban music in general. In 2007, they performed as a guest star on the CD by David Calzado and his Charanga Habanera, "El cañón." They won a "Premio Lucas," and continued with the megahits "Le gustan los artistas" and "Pa' la calle." In the summer of 2008, their first exclusive worldwide CD with Planet Records, "Lo mejor que suena ahora," was released. The music video for the superhit "Yo te enseñé," directed by Santana, was nominated for the Premios Lucas.
After their success, in 2010, "Full" was released in the music market. It consists of 16 songs and was created in collaboration with many artists: Orishas, Dr. López, Sr. Rodríguez, Los Generales, El Micha, Los Alertas, La Real Familia, and Elvis Manuel. In the summer of 2011 and January 2012, the band undertook two significant tours, performing in nearly forty cities with great artistic, critical, and public success. In the summer of 2012, they went on another important tour in Europe. In March 2013, Gente de Zona announced the separation of Alexander and Jacob Forever. Alexander continues under the name Gente de Zona alongside Randy, former singer of Charanga Habanera.
