Alexander Delgado. Popular and well-known Cuban reggaeton singer. Founder, director, and main composer of the renowned Cuban Music Group Gente de Zona. He was born in the municipality of Alamar, in Havana City, on August 21, 1979.
With multiple followers both inside and outside the territory, he has crafted a very unique and Creole style in his musical creation. Professional Career His story began long before the year 2000 when he was involved with Cuban hip-hop and frequently attended the Alamar Rap Festival in Havana. At first, he went to all the rap concerts and started experimenting with sampling. In the year 2000, several rap singers, including Alexander, gathered in Alamar, a place in the capital known for being the birthplace of Cuban hip-hop.
The name of the group, Gente de Zona, then emerged as evidence of where they came from, as Alamar is divided into numbered zones. Alexander Delgado later met Michel, "el Caro," and together they began performing at parties and official venues in Guanabacoa, Regla, and especially Alamar, their territory.
At the beginning of their journey as amateurs, they performed in various cultural centers such as those in Alamar, Guanabacoa, and Regla, but primarily in their hometown location, where they quickly won over the audience and garnered followers. This led them to participate 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 wasn't until 2002 that they began their professional career with the Antonio María Romeu company, performing all over the country.
In July 2005, Gente de Zona, still comprised 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 renowned music producer and DJ. With Gente de Zona, he was part of the album
The best that sounds 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 ambassadors of Caribbean reggaetón. "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 streets, from our personal experiences, but we didn't want our music to be limited to just one area. We aimed to convey our ideas and what we were doing musically to a broader audience, to all Cubans," said the founder and director of Gente de Zona. In 2006, they released the major hits “Soñé” and “La Campaña,” two superhits in Cuba and for 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 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, "Full" was released in the music market in 2010. It consists of 16 songs and was produced in collaboration with several 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 embarked on two significant tours, performing in nearly forty cities with great artistic, critical, and public acclaim. In the summer of 2012, they undertook 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, a former singer of Charanga Habanera.
