Abel Díaz Rodríguez, popularly known as El Chulo and The President of the Neighborhood, is a Cuban reggaeton artist belonging to the urban music genre. He was born in Belén, Havana, on June 24, 1990.
When he started making music in Cuba, in the Havana neighborhood of La Habana Vieja, the representatives of the urban genre were Los Generales, Michel Delgado, son of Issac Delgado, and Jose Juanqui, with whom he formed a group. He always knew he wanted to migrate to the United States. He was always drawn to the reggaeton genre. His childhood was spent in an environment marked by marginality.
In Cuba, he worked as a backup singer for Chocolate MC, with whom he recorded the song that launched him to fame and inspired him to start making music. His nickname, El Chulo, comes from his mother, who gave it to him as a reference to the fact that only her son could live at her expense.
In 2016, while already residing in Miami, he was arrested and charged with attempted second-degree murder for shooting at an officer, to which Díaz Rodríguez pleaded guilty and served time in prison. After completing his sentence, he found significant support from a friend who owned a recording studio, and he has said that this friend taught him to sing, as he only knew how to rap and found it impossible to perform choruses. His vision of his own music changed, and the goal of his current career, as he himself has pointed out, is to make the Reparto genre international.
El Chulo has participated in multiple performances alongside other representatives of the urban genre from Cuba, such as El Micha, El Taiger, Yakarta, Jacob Forever, Señorita Dayami, Baby Lorens, Lenier Mesa, Yomil and el Dany, the Puerto Rican Lary Over, and with people from Zona, with whom he recorded "Loco por bailar contigo" in 2019. He has achieved significant success with his music and has performed in New Jersey. His songs have garnered over 1 million views on YouTube.
In September 2018, he was one of those involved in the alleged assault on Cuban singer Gorki Ávila, which took place a week ago at the studios of Canal 41 in Miami when he was asked about Decree 349, with which the Cuban government aims to limit the freedom of artists on the Island. El Chulo defended his fellow professionals who refused to discuss politics and ended up attacking Gorki physically. Gorki called the police, and El Chulo was eventually expelled from Canal 41.
Her singles "Que mostra eres tú" and "Te estoy explicando" achieved Gold Record certification in June 2020.
In 2018, he joined the spectacular concert in Miami featuring Gente de Zona, Marc Anthony, Leoni Torres, Diana Fuentes, and other Cuban artists.
In May 2020, he published a video in which he clearly stated his political stance against the Cuban regime, calling himself part of the resistance and promising to denounce the dictatorship in every interview he gives. “How long will this go on? Years and decades keep going by, and the people are still being trampled on,” he pointed out. His statements were well received by his supporters.
On his social media, he boasts about his economic achievements and has recently made headlines for sharing photos of his new $175,000 Rolls Royce, which he purchased in cash, while announcing his upcoming home purchase, also in cash. In May 2020, he sent money to a disabled woman in Cuba whose case had been shared on social media, touching the artist, who wanted to make the amount of his donation public so that other performers would follow his lead.
His album El Presidente is set to be released in October 2020.
