Pancho Céspedes

Francisco Céspedes Rodríguez, better known as Pancho Céspedes, is a Cuban singer and songwriter born in Santa Clara, Cuba, on February 28, 1957.

He studied Medicine at the Faculty of Medical Sciences in Havana but decided to dedicate himself to music, becoming part of Cuban groups where he performed songs composed by him, carving out a place for himself within the feeling, a musical genre that emerged on the island that blends bolero with jazz.

He rose to fame as a composer when in 1992 the Mexican singer Luis Miguel decided to include his song Pensar en ti in his album Aries. This would not be the only song that the Mexican would perform by Céspedes. Subsequently, in 1996, as part of the album Nada es igual, the song Qué tú te vas, written by the Cuban, appeared.

He later emigrated to Mexico, where he became a citizen and relaunched his career, achieving great success that has made him one of the most renowned singer-songwriters on the continent.

He participated as a soloist for Mexico in the Viña del Mar Festival 1997, winning the second prize. In 1997, he recorded his first album Vida loca, the title track of which has become his most well-known composition and earned him several Platinum records in Spain. In 2018, it was used for the advertisement of the Volkswagen Golf GTI.

Pancho Céspedes has developed an extensive career, being nominated several times for the Grammy and Latin Grammy and has received other important awards such as the Premios Amigo for Best Latin New Artist, Best Latin Male Soloist, and Best Latin Album, as well as an Ondas Award: Latin New Artist 1998.

Discography: Vida loca (1998), Where is Life? (2000), ..Oh heart (2002), They say the soul (2004), Self-portrait (2005), With the permission of bola (2006), Do you remember...? (2009), Making a fuss, duetting with Armando Manzanero (2010), Closer to you (Live), (2011), Still (2015)

Regarding his position on the Cuban government, it has been controversial. In 2016, the singer-songwriter criticized his compatriot, the also singer Amaury Gutiérrez who resides in Miami, for the content of his lyrics against the Cuban regime. However, in 2020, one of his performances at a Cuban hotel was suspended following his statements in which he made clear his opinion on the failure of the Cuban revolutionary project.