Cuban musician Cimafunk joins the Grammy Awards Academy

July 16, 2022

Cuban musician Cimafunk was elected a member of the new class of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States, the organization that presents the prestigious Grammy Awards.

Thank you to the Grammys @RecordingAcad for inviting me to be a member. Honored to be there! pic.twitter.com/x1GIKvmyVg

— Cimafunk (@CimafunkOficial) July 13, 2022
The Cuban artist himself shared his inclusion on his social media and thanked the institution for his nomination.

"I feel honored to be part of the new class of members of Recording Academy/GRAMMYs and to join the countless creators and professionals who serve, celebrate and defend our music community all year long. #IAmTheAcademy. It worked!", the singer wrote on his Facebook profile.

"With the funky, hands up, it worked," celebrated Cimafunk, whose real name is Erik Iglesias.

This year the institution "invited more than 2,000 people to become voting members and more than 600 additional people to become professional members (without voting rights)," according to an announcement on Twitter.

Currently the academy has more than 15,000 members across both categories.

In 2021, Rolling Stone magazine included Cimafunk's album, El Alimento, among the 50 best albums of 2021, in a selection in which it ranked number 23.

Cimafunk landed on the music scene in 2017 with the album "Terapia" and an energetic live show that captivated audiences from different parts of the world. Originally from Pinar del Río, he usually fuses son and rumba with the funkiest rhythms and has been compared to the Cuban James Brown or Bruno Mars.