Alexis Puentes

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Singer-songwriter Alex Cuba comes from Artemisa, Cuba and currently resides in Smithers, Canada.

Musically, he lives in the middle of everywhere. His trademark of sweet sugarcane melodies and pop-soul hooks and gently rocks subtle notions commonly held about what Cuban music is. Alex is at the forefront, hand-sculpting a transcultural sound that reflects his geographic journey. Not bound by tradition, this Cuban-Canadian prefers his classic Gibson over the cowbell at all times.

Alex was immersed in music from his earliest years in Artemisa. His first appearance on stage was on national television at the age of four, playing claves, in a group led by his father who was the music instructor. He later went on to study guitar, tres, percussion and bass, practicing eight hours a day during his adolescence.

After a short period of time in which he worked with his twin brother Adonis to record Morumba Cubana, as Los Hermanos Puentes, Alex departed from Cuban music norms to follow his own path.

His debut CD with the Alex Cuba Band, "Humo De Tabaco", earned him a Juno Award in 2006 for "World Music Album Of The Year". The single "Lo Mismo Que Yo", featuring Ron Sexsmith, was charted in the top 20 on BBC Radio 2.

Alex traveled to Cuba with UK producer Martin Terefe to record "Humo", a funk album inspired by woodwinds and percussion, a sound that got under Terefe's skin. It is for this reason that "The sound of Alex Cuba" is now evident in Terefe's productions for Craig David, Ron Sexsmith and Jason Mraz.

After a musical and spiritual evolution, Cuba returned to the studio, this time with his co-producer from Victoria, Joby Baker, to record the album "Agua Del Pozo" which was released in Canada in February 2007 under his own label "Caracol Records".

Acclaimed for its blend of rhythms, instrumentation and composition, the album is a clear evolution from his debut, highlighted by the introduction of Alex's electric guitar, the classic '62 Gibson. "Agua" earned Alex his second Juno Award as "World Music Album Of The Year" in 2008. The album "Agua Del Pozo" was released in the US on September 22, 2009 with two previously unreleased tracks. Alex later traveled to the US for the launch of these records.

In the digital space, Alex Cuba has had four Singles of the Week on iTunes (Canada, US, Japan, Netherlands), has charted on several iTunes popularity lists in Canada, US and Japan, has built an impressive online community and has included considerable material from his career on MySpace, Yahoo!, AOL and other portals.

Alex recently collaborated with Nelly Furtado on her first Spanish-language album "Mi Plan" which was released worldwide in September 2009 (Universal). The creative chemistry between Alex, Nelly and James Bryan was magical and resulted in multiple co-compositions including the #1 hit "Manos Al Aire" and the album's favorite song where he appears as a guest vocalist. As a prolific songwriter, Alex is now beginning new collaborations with writers and producers on various projects.

Amid tour dates and collaborations with Nelly Furtado, Alex recorded his third album at Baker Studios in Victoria, BC. The self-titled project was released on October 27, 2009 in Canada, and in the US the release was June 8, 2010.

Presenting new surprising cuts, innovative tones on electric guitar and varying rhythms and structures, the album is an important step in Alex Cuba's progressive musical revolution. The first single "Caballo", a "Cuban funk-rocker" was also made into a video, created and produced with Smithers.

Other standout singles are "Solo Tu", an emotional mid-tempo rock ballad, "Tierra Colora" a burning "samba-rock-surf-punk" and "If You Give me Love" with lots of character and also Alex's first song in English which was recently released on radio, its video and also online.

He won the 2010 Latin Grammy as Artist of the Year.

With a heart as big as his retro afro, Cuba bears everything with dignity and focuses on what he does best: sculpting songs that cut across language and cultural barriers like a machete through sugarcane.

2022 Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album for his album "Mendó". This is not the only time Alex had been nominated for a Grammy award, although it is the first time he won one.

On three different occasions he competed for the award in the same category, in 2011 for "Alex Cuba", in 2016 for "Healer" and in 2018 for "Lo Único Constante".

The artist has won four Latin Grammys as best new artist, best tropical song, best music video short version and best singer-songwriter album.