Yelsy Heredia

Heredia is one of the many exceptional musicians that the Villa del Guaso has produced, and who from the diaspora defends his roots and the bicentennial changüí, a cadenced mountain genre that today promises to conquer the world.

Jelsy is one of the most prestigious bass players in today's musical landscape, hence his innumerable collaborations: Bebo Valdés, Chucho Valdés, Diego el Cigala, Guillermo Rubalcaba, Armando Manzanero, Ana Belén, Chano Domínguez, Tomatito, Niña Pastori, Jerry González.

Of classical training, from a very early age he begins to take an interest in contemporary music, investigating Jazz, Latin Jazz and, above all, the roots music of his native Cuba. Since his arrival in Spain, while still very young, he focuses his senses on his most genuine musical expression, Flamenco.

Yelsy says that Flamenco brings him "musicality, friendships and stability" and he seems to want to repay it by gifting it those rural sonorities, now obsolete, coming from his Cuban east. And he does it from that same humility inherent to the social strata from which both musics come.

The flamenco artists have made him one of their own and today his bass is a reference in the flamenco scene. Artists of the caliber of Diego el Cigala, Dorantes, Paquete, Diego del Morao, Tomatito, Isidro Muñoz, Remedios Amaya attest to this daily…

The Cubans for their part say that he is the bass player with the most projection due to his great knowledge of Cuban music and the personality of his execution. He has collaborated with Bebo Valdés "All Star Big Band", Chucho Valdés, Tata Güines, Guillermo Rubalcaba and Changuito, among others.

He was nominated in the Best Traditional Tropical Album category in the 20th edition of the 2019 Latin Grammy Awards. Lo Nuestro is his fourth album, preceded by Guantánamo Changüí (2010), produced by Diego El Cigala; Recovecos (2013) and Camino a Maisí (2014).

In an interview with the newspaper Venceremos he said: Venceremos said: «Organically I make use of the rhythmic sap of Guantanamo and incorporate new melodic, harmonic and percussive elements to it. I call my artistic product 'changüí with ají', because as a musical chef, I add my seasonings to the genre without changing its representative patterns».