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 emigrate to the United States. He has always had a preference for 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 begin making music. He owes his nickname "El Chulo" to his mother, who gave it to him in reference to the fact that only her son could live at her expense.
In 2016, while living 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 in a friend who owned a recording studio, and he has mentioned that this friend taught him to sing, as he only knew how to rap and found it impossible to perform choruses. His perspective on his own music has changed, and the goal of his current career, as he himself has stated, is to make the genre Reparto 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 y el Dany, the Puerto Rican Lary Over, and with members of 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 reach 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 earlier at the studios of Channel 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 came to the defense of his fellow professionals who refused to talk about politics and ended up violently attacking Gorki. Gorki ended up calling the police, and El Chulo was subsequently expelled from Channel 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 expresses his political stance against the Cuban regime, claiming to be part of the resistance and promising to denounce the dictatorship in every interview he gives. "How long will this last? Years and decades go by, and they continue to trample the people," he stated. His comments were well received by his followers.
On his social media, he boasts about his financial achievements and has recently made headlines for sharing pictures of his new $175,000 Rolls Royce purchased in cash, while also announcing the upcoming purchase of his house, also paid for in cash. In May 2020, he sent money to a disabled woman in Cuba whose case had been shared on social media and moved the artist, who wanted to publicize the amount of his donation to encourage other performers to follow his lead.
His album El Presidente is set to be released in October 2020.
