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 Alamar municipality of Havana on August 21, 1979.
With numerous followers both within and outside the territory, he has developed a very unique and Creole style in his musical creation. Professional Career His story began long before the year 2000 when he became involved with Cuban hip-hop and was a regular at the Alamar Rap Festival in Havana. Initially, 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 place in the capital known as the cradle of Cuban hip-hop.
The name of the group, Gente de Zona, emerged as evidence of their origin, 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 and Regla, and especially in Alamar, their home 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, where they quickly won over the audience and gained followers. This led them to participate in the international rap festivals held annually in Cuba. Alexander was in charge of the entertainment 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 in the Antonio María Romeu company, performing throughout 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, with a work that showed greater maturity within their genre, always blending it with our rhythms and considering market demands. In 2005, Michel left the group and Jacob Forever joined, coming from the group "Made in Cuba," along with Nando Pro, a recognized music producer and DJ. Together with Gente de Zona, he was part of the album
The Best That 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 representatives 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 of our songs come from the streets, from our personal experiences, but we didn't want our music to be confined to just one area. We wanted to convey our ideas and what we do musically to a broader audience, to all the Cubans," said the founder and director of Gente de Zona. In 2006, they achieved major success with "Soñé" and "La Campaña," two superhits in Cuba and among all fans of Cuban music. In 2007, they were featured 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 global exclusive 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 embarked on two major tours, performing in almost forty cities with great artistic, critical, and public acclaim. In the summer of 2012, they went on another significant 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.
