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 was always drawn to the reggaeton genre. His childhood unfolded in an environment marked by marginality.
In Cuba, he worked as a backing vocalist for Chocolate MC, with whom he recorded the song that launched him to fame and inspired him to start making music. He owes his nickname El Chulo to his mother, who gave it to him in reference to the idea that only her son could live at her expense.
In 2016, while living in Miami, he was arrested and charged with second-degree attempted murder for shooting at an officer, to which Díaz Rodríguez pleaded guilty and served prison time. After completing his sentence, he found considerable support from a friend who owned a recording studio, from whom he has said he learned to sing, as he only knew how to rap and found it impossible to perform choruses. His perspective on his own music has evolved, and the goal of his current career, as he himself has stated, is to make the Reparto genre international.
El Chulo has participated in multiple performances alongside other urban genre artists 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 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 the individuals involved in the alleged assault on Cuban singer Gorki Ávila, which took place a week prior at the studios of Canal 41 in Miami when he was asked about Decree 349, which the Cuban government seeks to use to limit the freedom of artists from the Island. El Chulo defended his colleagues who refused to speak about politics and ended up attacking Gorki in a physical confrontation. Gorki eventually called the police, and El Chulo was expelled from Canal 41.
Her singles “Que mostra eres tú” and “Te estoy explicando” received Gold Record certification in June 2020.
In 2018, she joined the spectacular concert in Miami featuring Gente de Zona, Marc Anthony, Leoni Torres, Diana Fuentes, and other Cuban artists.
In May 2020, he released a video in which he clearly stated his political stance against the Cuban regime, identifying himself as part of the resistance and promising to denounce the dictatorship in every interview he gives. "How long will this continue? Years and decades keep passing, and they continue to oppress the people," he remarked. His statements 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, which he bought in cash, while also announcing the upcoming cash purchase of a house. In May 2020, he sent money to a disabled woman in Cuba whose story had been shared on social media and touched the artist, who wanted to publicize the amount of his donation to inspire other performers to follow his lead.
His album El Presidente is scheduled for release in October 2020.
