Carlos Hipólito Ibáñez

He arrived at the Superior School of Art in Havana (ISA) to study acting, but convinced that theater was not his calling. That's why his years at that school can be summarized in the central building, where musicians rehearsed, or in the room where chamber orchestras were located.

Even while studying acting, he never stopped singing. He already knew how to play guitar and tres, and some piano, and had written some songs when he was a teenager. But it was two events that marked his need as a creator of a different nature: a concert by Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés on the university steps, and meeting Carlos Varela in a classroom at ISA. "I looked at Silvio and said: I want to be like that guy. I was fascinated by the way he composed and sang".

He attended some gatherings that took place in those years in Havana. It was the era of Marta Campos and Donato Poveda and by the time he graduated, only 28% of him felt like an actor. The rest was always a musician. A musician who increasingly gathered more people and who began to do well in that world.

He does not consider himself a "quick creator", that's why, in more than 30 years of career he has only six albums. To compose he needs to have a few experiences in the society in which he lives, intense moments and some "craziness". But that can't be achieved in a week, and even if he could write songs as a craft every day, approving what he does takes him time.

He graduated from the Superior Institute of Art, joined the New Troubadour Movement starting in 1985, when he began his career as a composer.

A restless creator from his student days to today, he has us accustomed to thinking through his lyrics and music even from that pretentious album called Recuento that reached places as diverse as Venezuela and above all, to the taste and hearts of those seeking new horizons in the so-called New Cuban Song.

His pleasant timbre, which he places appropriately to convey the intention of each piece, leaves those who listen to him unmoved. The predominantly young audience leans toward approval and complicity with what he says, wrapped in the magic of honesty and simplicity.

The singer-songwriter is accompanied by six talented musicians, and together they establish a very special relationship with the audience. The band, unleashes with the style already established by who directs them, a whole range of musical genres: from Pop and Rock, to Jazz. It is with this band that he records his third album titled Axilas, where his experience turns toward a string of interesting arrangements preserving his unique way of composing.

Discography
Polito has recorded several albums that have been to the liking of the population and currently has many followers. In 1993 he recorded his album "Recuento", with the Unicornio label, which contained eleven compositions, among which are: Recuento, Evocaciones, Declaraciones, and others.

Later, in 2000 he records the album "Para No Pensar" and in 2003 his album "Axilas" was launched at CUBADISCO, this last one produced by Estudios Abdala, with 14 titles, most composed by Polito.

His latest musical production was presented in the City of Havana, last October at the Centro Cultural Fresa y Chocolate, under the title "Sombras amarillas", as a result of a rigorous and attractive selection of his work, spanning between 1997 and 2008. The album was recorded in Cuba, at Estudios 18 of the Recording and Musical Editions Company (EGREM), mixed and mastered in Italy under the musical production of Steve Dal Col and Ibáñez himself.

Before Your Eyes, CD from 2018, was recorded with the National Symphonic Orchestra of Cuba, under the direction of maestro Enrique Pérez Mesa, the arrangements and orchestrations are by Polito. It includes eleven poems that I set to music and two songs composed by me. I have also performed concerts with all the symphonic orchestras of the country and with those of several Latin American nations.

With Bis Music he made the CD From Hands and Feet and had the joy of being called later by Liuba María Hevia to sing on her anthology Parallel Lives.

Awards
He obtained the Cubadisco Award 2001 in the Rock Music and Musical Production category with the CD Para no Pensar, from the Unicornio label, Producciones Abdala. His songs have been included in national and international compilations. He has composed especially for films and television series. He has performed concerts in countries such as Trinidad & Tobago, Argentina, Venezuela, Spain, France and Holland, sharing stages with renowned figures such as Pablo Milanés, Silvio Rodríguez and Joaquín Sabina.