David Álvarez, Another Cuban Musician Building a Career from Spain

February 1, 2024

The singer, arranger, guitarist and composer alternates his work in Spain with various projects linked to musicians who reside within the Island.

After a notable musical career in Cuba, David Álvarez, director of the group Juego de Manos, has continued his career in Spain, where he regularly performs on various stages in addition to collaborating with other artists who have emigrated from the Island.

The singer, arranger, guitarist and composer alternates his work in that European country with various projects linked to musicians who reside within the Island and other nations.

This year, Álvarez has important projects in Spain that could continue to boost his career and his work within music production.

Álvarez performed on January 18th in Madrid alongside Cuban actor René de la Cruz, who alternates his personal and professional life between Spain and Havana.

The musician founded Juego de Manos in 1994 and his work brings together influences from singer-songwriters like Pedro Luis Ferrer and different genres of popular and traditional Cuban music. His distinctive voice and the sonority of his group made him a reference artist within the new generations of Cuban musicians.

With his group he has performed on stages in Europe and Latin America, with great public success, and has recorded close to 10 albums including (among them Rimasones, Mundo Loco, David Álvarez canta a Luis Marquetti and Somos Cuba).

He was recently awarded for his participation in the soundtrack of the film Mambo Man, by Iranian director Mo Fini and Cuban Edesio Alejandro.

Álvarez has also developed an important career as a producer, both in Cuba and in Spain.

On the Island, his name is barely mentioned currently, while his followers miss the concerts he used to offer frequently.

In recent years, a large group of Cuban artists from different fields has emigrated from the Island, mainly due to the serious economic, social and political crisis the country is experiencing, but the exodus increased during the past year.

Several essential names in Cuban music have started a new life in Spain, especially in Madrid, among them pianists Cucurucho Valdés and Robertico Carcassés, leader of the group Interactivo.

In the city of Miami, several Cuban musicians have also recently settled. One of the most recent cases was that of Juan Carlos Rivero, former director of the group Moncada.