Wilfredo José Chirino, artistically known as Willy Chirino, is a Cuban singer-songwriter and music producer based in Miami. He was born on April 5, 1947, in Consolación del Sur, Pinar del Río, Cuba.
In 1961, Chirino emigrated to the United States. In 1962, he formed a rock band called The Whailers and later moved to New York, where he worked with Julio Gutiérrez, Tito Puente, and other renowned musicians.
In 1974, he recorded his first album, One Man Alone, which has been followed by more than 40 productions. Willy Chirino is one of the architects of the Miami Sound, born from the fusion of rhythms brought by musicians and orchestras that emigrated and performed in Miami during the 70s and 80s. Chirino's music encompasses salsa, merengue, Cuban music, rumba, rock, and other blends of Caribbean rhythms.
He has shared stages with Celia Cruz, Arturo Sandoval, David Bisbal, Oscar de León, Baby Lorens, among others, and his compositions have been recorded by other artists such as Raphael with his famous "Escándalo," Ricardo Montaner, Celia Cruz, etc. As a producer, he has also produced albums for Raphael, Rocío Jurado, Magneto, and others. He has owned his own record label, Latinum Music, Inc., since 1997.
In 2014, he received a Latin Grammy Award for Excellence.
Chirino is one of the most beloved and influential artists in the Cuban community, not only for his music but also for his humanitarian work and his involvement with Cuban emigrants who came by boat, for which he has received significant recognition.
In 1994, following the so-called Raft Crisis, thousands of Cubans took to the sea, and the United States temporarily placed them in camps while immigration authorities processed them. Chirino visited several of those centers in Panama and Guantánamo. His song "Ya viene llegando" became the anthem for an entire generation yearning for freedom, especially for the balseros detained in these makeshift shelters that welcomed him with open arms.
Regarding his most famous song, which is part of the album Oxígeno that became very popular in Cuba in 1991, Willy told Alexis Valdés in an interview: "I wrote 'Ya viene llegando' as a form of relief, a kind of therapy." "I never really imagined what that song would become, because I didn't write it with that intention; I just wanted to share a bit of my life," said the singer.
In 2010, he collaborated on the recording of the Latin version of the song "We Are the World," alongside many well-known Latino faces, with the proceeds going to the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.
In 2013, alongside Gloria Estefan, he lent his voice to the Conecta Cuba campaign, an effort to bring free internet to the majority of Cubans.
Recently, following the release of the film La Red Avispa, Chirino has made headlines for his comments against the movie, which he has labeled as Infamy, particularly due to the portrayal of Basulto and the organization Brothers to the Rescue: "I knew José Basulto and his family very well. He is a decent, brave man, a patriot who has fought tremendously for Cuba, for the freedom of Cuba. He has saved thousands of lives in the Florida straits with his organization Brothers to the Rescue. I had the opportunity to fly with them and witness their work firsthand."
