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 inside and outside the territory, he has managed to develop a very unique and local 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 went to 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 place in the capital known as the birthplace of Cuban hip-hop.
The name of the group, Gente de Zona, emerged as a testament to the area they came from, as 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 especially Alamar, their territory.
In their early days as amateurs, they performed in various Cultural Centers such as those in Alamar, Guanabacoa, and Regla, but mainly in their hometown center, where they quickly won over the audience and gained followers. As a result, 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 members 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 market demands into account. In 2005, Michel left the group and Jacob Forever, who came from the group "Made in Cuba," and Nando Pro, a recognized music producer and DJ, joined. With Gente de Zona, he was part of the album
The best sounds right 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 champions of Caribbean reggaeton. "I'm from Alamar, Nando is from Santa Fe, and we have been part of Cuban hip hop since the beginning. We dressed like other rappers but 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, they released the major hits "Soñé" and "La Campaña," two superhits in Cuba and for all fans of Cuban music. 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, 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 the album "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 embarked on two major tours, performing in nearly forty cities with significant 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, the former singer of Charanga Habanera.
