Yotuel Omar Manzanarez Romero is a Cuban singer, songwriter, actor, model, and music producer born on October 6, 1976, in Havana, Cuba.
His beginnings in the music world started at the age of 18 when he joined Hiram Riverí (Ruzzo) and Joel Pando (El Pionero) to form the group Amenaza, a pioneering band of Cuban hip-hop that rescued and fused the oral tradition of Cuba with rap, thus laying the foundations for what would later become the group Orishas. The group performed in the 90s at various prominent venues such as Café Cantante, a gathering place in the gardens of Teatro Mella, Casa de la Música, and Casa de la Cultura de Centro Habana, among others.
In 1997, they were awarded the First Prize at the Semi-Underground Cuban Rap Festival in Alamar. By then, they were already being played on the radio and television across the island. Subsequently, thanks to an exchange from a French solidarity association with the Cuban people, the members of Amenaza traveled to France, where they eventually settled to continue their musical project, which welcomed Roldán González Rivero, who sang traditional Cuban music with the group Rico Son. Under the name Orishas, the new group signed with the record label EMI and released their first studio album, A Lo Cubano, in 1999, which made them famous worldwide, becoming the leading exponents of Cuban hip hop. In 2002, Emigrante was released, followed by El Kilo in 2005, Antidiotico in 2007, and Cosita Buena in 2008. After 10 years during which each member took separate paths, they reunited to release Gourmet in 2018.
With Orishas, Yotuel toured stages around the world and sold over 750,000 copies in Europe.
In 2003, "Time" magazine included Orishas among the 10 most important bands outside the U.S
Emigrantes received a nomination for the Grammy Awards in the category of Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album, and won the award for Best Hip Hop/Rap Album
In 2005, El Kilo was nominated for the Latin Grammy Awards as Best Urban Music Album and for the Grammy Awards in the category of Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album.
In 2008, the song Pal Norte, by the Puerto Rican group Calle 13, won a Latin Grammy for Best Urban Song. They were also nominated for Antidiotico for Best Urban Music Album and the song Hay Un Son for Best Video.
Additionally, Orishas' music received awards in Spain, where they achieved several gold and platinum sales records.
The theme "A lo cubano" is one of the most commonly used backgrounds in series, contests, and films where a character from the island is introduced.
In addition, his music has been featured in various soundtracks such as Kubaner Küssen Besser Germany 2002, Fast and Furious II, 2003, Bad Boys II, 2003, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights 2004, Perfecto Amor Equivocado Cuba-Spain 2004, and El Benny Cuba 2006
On December 12, 2009, Orishas held their final concert as a group in Zurich, Switzerland. Afterwards, each member of the group went their separate ways to work on solo albums.
As an actor, Yotuel has appeared in series and films such as the popular "Un paso Adelante," where he met his partner, the Spanish actress, dancer, composer, and singer Beatriz Luengo. Additionally, in Cuban cinema, we could see him in "Color Habana," "Perfecto amor equivocado," and "El Baile de San Juan."
As a solo artist, Yotuel has collaborated with singers such as Ricky Martin, joining him on the single Una mordidita from the Puerto Rican's album A quien quiera escuchar (2015). The song, with over 1.2 billion views on YouTube, won the Lo Nuestro Award for Video of the Year.
In January 2021, together with Beatriz Luego, he released the music video for his single Rebelde on YouTube in collaboration with the popular Spanish singer and influencer Omar Montes.
In January 2020, along with Orishas and Beatriz Luengo, he released Ojalá pase, in which Luengo contributes by singing the exact chorus of the song Ojalá by Silvio Rodríguez. This generated a significant controversy with Silvio, and ultimately the song was removed from all platforms.
In 2021, Yotuel made headlines again for using the same lyrics to create the song Patria y Vida, joining his voice in collaboration with Gente de Zona, Decemer Bueno, and the rappers Maykel Osorbo and el Funky, two of the most prominent figures of the San Isidro Movement and the fight against repression on the island. Additionally, the audiovisual features Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, another member of the MSI.
With this song, which has garnered over 4 million views, the musicians have made history by creating an anthem of freedom with which all Cubans, both on and off the island, have identified. It has strongly angered the Cuban regime, increasing the repression against any citizen who sings or publicly writes any of its verses.
Yotuel himself was the target of insults from the Cuban government, which called him a "jinetero" due to his relationship with the Spanish singer Beatriz Luengo.
In February, alongside other Cuban artists and personalities, he spoke before the European Parliament to discuss the situation in Cuba as well as with members of Joe Biden's administration, concerning the impact that the song has had.
In January, he announced that he was working on a song with the Spanish singer-songwriter and composer Rozalén titled "Propuesta indecente".
Yotuel lives in Miami with his wife Beatriz Luengo, with whom he is expecting their second child, a girl who will be born in 2021. He also has a third child from a previous relationship. It is common to see him sharing family snapshots, often accompanied by his mother, to whom the Cuban artist is very close.
