Leonardo Torres Álvarez

Vocalist, composer and producer, cataloged as one of the most important figures in Cuban music.

He never studied music as he did not have the opportunity. He is a refrigeration technician, and even worked for a time in that field. He began his artistic career at a very young age. He was evaluated as a singer in 1998 in his hometown. After a brief stint with the group Costa Sur, from Camagüey.

After Costa Sur he was a comedian in his own group "Los Cariduros", where he sang the occasional ballad. He wrote much of the script, and his character was the "serious one", because despite being so comfortable on stage he is quite introverted off stage, according to his friends.

The comedy lasted about 2 years; encouraged by people who approached him to sing again he started with a group that broke up around 6 months and then he returned with the comedians. Shortly after he began singing with the Maravillas de Florida orchestra (the second oldest living orchestra in Cuba), with which he worked for 2 years, and with which he recorded the CD "Vieja, pero se mantiene". When he was in this orchestra work offers rained down on him, which he rejected one after another, in Camagüey and Havana.

His work in this orchestra caught the attention of David Calzado, who proposed that he join as a singer in his famous group.

In 2001 he joined the Charanga Habanera. During the eight years he was part of it he performed duets and projects with important figures in Cuban music. He achieved great success with hits like "Tiene de Cuba, tiene mela'o" and "Gozando y a lo cubano". He toured the world with David Calzado's charangueros and recorded several albums.

Leoni decided to embark on his own solo project. His sober image, yet very efficient on stage, his excellent command of melody and an unpretentious simplicity were the credentials that quickly placed him in the highest ranks of popular taste.

In 2008 his first solo album titled Bajo la Piel hit the market, with which he became the revelation singer of the year in Cuba. The album includes 13 pop songs with a strong presence of Cuban and Caribbean rhythms, as well as jazz sonority. The single "¿A dónde vas?" became a musical success in Cuba and part of Latin America, in addition to the acceptance achieved by the song "No pierdas tiempo", which in Cuba has accompanied the campaign to prevent HIV.

With his project he has performed massive concerts throughout the island and has performed in other countries, including Mexico and Canada.

He has placed songs on the national radio charts. Some of his songs are included in the documentary Popular, by American filmmaker Jennifer Paz; in the Cuban-Italian film Un loco soñador, directed by Italian Ángelo Rizo; and in the Cuban-Spanish film Círculos viciosos, by director Antonio Hens.

His first CD Bajo la piel was nominated for the Cubadisco awards, in the Pop category. The song "No pierdas tiempo" was chosen for the 2009 HIV prevention campaign. He has won three times the popularity award promoted by the television program "Entre tú y yo". Since 2007 to date he has provided voice for telenovela themes and adventure series such as: Los tres Villalobos, Añorado encuentro and Aquí estamos. In 2009 he produced his first DVD as a producer.

In 2011 he produced his second album called Latiendo from which Leoni Torres solidified his solo career and became one of the most recognized figures in contemporary Cuban music.

From 2014 onwards the artist developed not only as a performer but also as a composer and examples of this are the songs: "Traidora", a song of his authorship defended by Marc Anthony and Gente de Zona with great international success, and "Para que un día vuelvas" a work he shares as a duet with Pablo Milanés. In addition to these songs Leoni placed others in popular preference such as: "Soledad" and "Me equivoqué", the latter performed with young singer Divan Sotelo.

The year 2016 was decisive for Leoni Torres especially in favor of his international recognition, and greatly contributed to this the contract signed with the Magnus Media company, producer of singer Marc Anthony.

Among the projects presented by Leoni that same year is the DVD "Desde mí" featuring attractive versions of songs preferred by the singer such as: "Deja que te falte", by Raúl Paz, "Enséñame", popularized in Cuba by Emmanuel, "Caballo viejo", by Simón Díaz; and "Acerca el oído", a bolero inspired by Arsenio Rodríguez.

Following the premiere of this material directed by Yeandro Tamayo, the music video for the song "Soledad", current musical success by Leoni Torres, was released. The video in question is one of the most nominated for the 2016 Lucas Awards as it competes in four categories: Best Production, Best danceable popular music video, Best art direction and Most popular video of the year.

The outstanding Cuban composer and performer is currently focused on completing his next album which will be fundamentally comprised of duets with prominent figures such as Pablo Milanés, Descemer Bueno and Kelvis Ochoa, Rosario Flores, among others. Amid this, he promotes his most recent work titled "Toda una vida".

Married to the excellent actress Yuliet Cruz, they constitute one of the most solid couples in Cuban entertainment on the largest of the Antilles. Upon completing 14 years of union they decided to give themselves a day alone to pamper themselves. They have two sons, Samuel and Sebastián.

Since October 2021 the couple decided to settle in Miami for "an extended period". Author of hits like Amor Bonito, Soledad or Para que un día vuelvas, Torres has developed a distinguished career as a soloist after his departure from La Orquesta Charanga Habanera, where more than two decades ago he performed several of the successes of the group led by David Calzado.

The musician has increased his popularity in recent years due to his versatility in performing different styles and his talent as a singer, dancer and composer, qualities that have led him to fill major theaters in Cuba and stadiums such as La Ciudad Deportiva de La Habana.

In recent years his career has achieved greater international projection and he has become part of the catalog of Magnus Media, the famous singer of Puerto Rican origin Marc Anthony, who has worked with other Cuban artists such as Gente de Zona and Cimafunk.

Torres recorded the song "Para mi viejo" with Willy Chirino, one of the most recognized Cuban musicians in exile.