Cuban DJ Ernesto Jorge Hidalgo, Tiko, Dies While Trying to Reach the USA from Mexico

April 26, 2022

Cuban DJ Ernesto Jorge Hidalgo, known as DJ Tiko, died at the age of 39 while traveling from the Mexican city of Tijuana toward the southern border of the United States, according to reports shared on social media.

According to several of his friends, this Sunday his body was found lifeless on a road, after they lost contact with him, who had said he was heading to cross the border.

Tiko was known for being the founder of the Electrozona project in Holguín and one of the "promoters of Electro Romerías, a space for the promotion of the work of Cuban djs and producers during the Romerías de Mayo", according to a post on Facebook by Michel Hernández, a journalist specializing in cultural topics.

"He also created the Stereo G festival in Gibara and his work behind the machines always lifted the audience that follows Cuban electronic music. The death of Tiko, who was vice president of the Hermanos Saíz Association in Holguín, is a great loss for the electronic music of the island, which in recent years said goodbye to another of its most prominent names: Dj Dark", said Michel.

Although he currently resided in Mexico, the dj and producer had always stated that his intention was to reach the United States, and for this reason he dared to do so in this migration wave that has already led thousands of Cubans to cross the border in the last six months.

The artist also won awards not only for his music but for his projects in films, theatrical works, and dance performances.

Tiko was known for being a cheerful, joking person, according to statements from his friends.

"How sad I am, a creative man left us, a friend, someone special and of stature, a noble heart, may my feelings reach his loved ones. Rest in peace my friend", said photographer from Holguín Ernesto Daniel Brito.

According to a post on Facebook by Cuban journalist Michel Hernández, "the news of his death has shaken the electronic music scene community on the island, where due to the rigor and perseverance in his work he became not only a high-level Dj and producer in contemporary Cuban music, but also a founder".

Hernández assured that, according to people close to the artist, he had already tried on other occasions to cross into the USA.

Tiko Dj was one of the leading exponents of electronic music in eastern Cuba, specifically in the city of Holguín where he is from. The musician was vice president of the Hermanos Saíz Association in Holguín.

"His work behind the machines always lifted the audience that follows Cuban electronic music. The death of Tiko is a great loss for the electronic music of the island, which in recent years said goodbye to another of its most prominent names: Dj Dark", concluded Michel Hernández on social media.

There have been many reactions from friends and admirers of the Cuban artist. Such is the case of film director Amilcar Melián, who assured that the expressions of grief over the death of Tiko Dj confirm that many feel the same fascination for the artist.

"He was one of the most authentic and ingenious people we knew, I think I can speak in plural to somehow embrace my friends who mourn him, he had an exceptional intelligence, and you could sense it from his jokes", writes Melián.

"Martí has that phrase that there are men who in themselves condense all the honor of an era and their strength somehow answers for the misery of others, that is more or less Tiko, a guy who condensed the joy of an era and a period, and saved us from the grayness and mediocrity of Cuba. I'm not exaggerating one bit", Melián continues.

The electronic music community on the island has also been affected after learning about the death of the admired artist.

The digital platform for the dissemination of alternative Cuban art, Coocuyo, published a note on its website to join in the grief of family and friends. They also spoke about the musician's achievements, among which is the Audience Award that he won in 2016, with more than 7 million votes, in the "cultural success contest of the province of Eastern Cuba, awarded by the Provincial Culture Department through the Cultural Communication Center La Luz and the specialized circle of the cultural press of the Union of Journalists of Cuba in the territory", according to the publication.