Ernesto Blanco Ponsada

Cuban musician, composer, performer and arranger, graduated in Classical Guitar from the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory. He began his professional career in 2001, as part of the group of his well-known and popular brother, also a musician, performer and composer, David Blanco. He plays electric guitar.

Graduate of the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory, specializing in classical guitar (highest grade).

For 10 years he was part of his brother's band, a school, he says, until he decided to undertake his solo project.

"When I played with my brother's band, I was recording at the same time with many people and was a session guitarist. Perhaps my first Lucas award in 2009 made me think that I should already take my career in a solo direction. I already had my own ambitions but everything started to explode from that moment on and people called me to do concerts or collaborate. But I feel that with my brother I learned a lot. It was a lecture for my musical growth".

Ernesto has created a group that does work related to Cuban pop rock, formed by himself on electric guitar and keyboards, plus a drummer and a bassist.

In 2009 he recorded his first CD, Kilómetro Cero, with the Bis Music label, which precisely refers to the moment of the beginning of his solo career. The proposed CD contains 11 pieces, in a fresh Cuban pop rock style, which are almost all of his authorship and in whose accompaniment he has performed practically all the instruments. For this reason, it is not surprising at all that in the credits we see young Ernesto Blanco assume the musical and general production, arrangements, recording, mixing, in addition to guitars, vocals, bass, choruses, percussion and even drums, something that testifies to his versatility. This album received nominations for the 2010 Cubadisco award in the categories of pop, design and music video.

He has participated in several albums by Cuban artists, as an instrumentalist, singer, arranger and producer. Among them is the first album by Ogguere, the album Sola by Isis Flores, the three albums by David Blanco, especially the last one, where he had active participation as a composer and arranger, in addition to instrumentalist and singer. He also accompanied Haydée Milanés on her album Haydée Milanés en vivo, distributed by the Bis Music label.

His music is heard in TV programs such as Deja que yo te cuente, Lucas and Jugada perfecta; whose creations identify the beginning and closing of these programs. He has composed music for teleplays that have been successfully broadcast on TV.

He is part of David Blanco's band. He has regularly accompanied Suylen Milanés, Haydée Milanés, Isis Flores, Ogguere and other artists. He also accompanied Fito Páez and other notable Argentine artists. He has participated in the Canada-Cuba big band, which a few years ago participated in concerts in Havana.

He has performed in Spain and Argentina on several occasions.

He won the 2009 Lucas award for best pop artist video, with the video "Reinas de la Noche". He won the popularity award from the Luna Llena de Holguín festival, and the award for best emerging artist.

Ernesto Blanco spent three hours talking with Bon Jovi in 2016 at the Fábrica de Arte Cubano. The musician remembers that moment as a turning point in his career as a guitarist and composer. "Bon Jovi is a great musician and I was very surprised by his humility and his manners", says the youngest of the Blancos. The guitarist recounts that in those three hours he did not stop being amazed by the charisma of this figure in the international rock scene. "It was something intimate and we were able to talk for quite a while with him. We talked about his new album and he was very surprised by the works of art he saw at Fábrica. We talked about guitar, music and events he has experienced in his career. That meeting was like therapy for me. He had a lot of interest in doing something in Cuba and Cubans deserve to enjoy that great band.

Ernesto, an instrumentalist with proven merits on electric guitar, has exchanged in Cuba with other legendary musicians such as Smokey Robinson, Steven Miller, Dave Matthews and has collaborated with several of the far-reaching representatives of Cuban music, among them Síntesis, Carlos Varela, X Alfonso.

Awards
As a result of his social work with David Blanco and his group, he has deserved for several years the status of National Vanguard of the Union of Culture Workers. He won the 2009 Lucas award for best pop artist video, with the video Reinas de la Noche. He won the popularity award from the Luna Llena de Holguín festival, and the award for best emerging artist.