Alexander Delgado. Popular and recognized Cuban reggaeton singer. Founder, director, and main composer of the renowned 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 within and outside the territory, he has managed to establish a very unique and local style in his musical creation. Professional Career His story began long before the year 2000 when he was involved with Cuban hip-hop and became a regular at the Alamar Rap Festival in Havana. At first, he attended all the rap concerts and started sampling. It was precisely in the year 2000 that several rap artists, including Alexander, gathered in Alamar, a place in the capital known for being the cradle of Cuban hip-hop.
The name of the group, Gente de Zona, then emerged as a testament to the area they came from, since Alamar is divided into numbered zones. Alexander Delgado later met Michel, “el Caro,” and together they began to perform at parties and official venues in Guanabacoa, Regla, and above all, Alamar, their territory.
In their early days as amateurs, they performed at various Cultural Houses such as those in Alamar, Guanabacoa, and Regla, but primarily at the one in their hometown, where they quickly won over the audience and gained followers. They participated in the international rap festivals held annually in Cuba. Alexander was in charge of the animation for three consecutive years. Later, they became part of the Asociación Hermanos Saíz, and it was not until 2002 that they began their professional career with the Antonio María Romeu company, performing across the country.
In July 2005, Gente de Zona, still made up of Alexander and Michel, became part of the catalog of La Agencia Cubana de Rap, now with a more mature body of work within their genre, always blending it with our rhythms and taking market demands into account. 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 sounds now Vol II, featuring 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 leading figures 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 we didn’t sound like them. Our lyrics were more commercial.”
"Almost all our songs come from the street, 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 did musically to a broader audience, to all Cubans," said the founder and director of Gente de Zona on one occasion. In 2006, their major hits "Soñé" and "La Campaña," two superhits, emerged, becoming popular in Cuba and among all fans of Cuban music. In 2007, they performed as a guest artist on the CD of David Calzado and his Charanga Habanera, "El cañón." They won a "Premio Lucas," and followed up with the megahits "Le gustan los artistas" and "Pa' la calle." In the summer of 2008, they released their first exclusive worldwide CD with Planet Records, "Lo mejor que suena ahora." 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 produced in collaboration with various 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 embarked on another important tour in Europe. In March 2013, Gente de Zona announced the separation of Alexander and Jacob Forever. Alexander continued under the name Gente de Zona alongside Randy, former singer of Charanga Habanera.
