Pedrito Calvo discharged in Panama after mid-trip health scare

September 28, 2026

Cuban singer Pedro Aniceto Calvo Rojas, known as Pedrito Calvo, was discharged on Sunday, September 27, 2026, in Panama City after a health scare on Friday, September 25, while traveling from Havana to Cali, Colombia, with a layover at Tocumen International Airport, according to Cuba's Institute of Music (ICM), Prensa Latina and family statements reported by Cubanet and Periódico Cubano.

The ICM and Cuba's Ministry of Culture, cited by Prensa Latina and Granma, described the episode as a cerebrovascular accident during the transit stop. They said the 84-year-old artist was treated at a Panama City clinic and that Cuba's embassy in Panama assisted the family with logistics.

His son, Pedrito Calvo Jr., issued a separate family statement saying his father lost consciousness and temporarily lost speech and mobility. According to that message, follow-up tests including an MRI found no lasting cerebrovascular damage and linked the episode to a prior intestinal virus, with results "satisfactory except for hemoglobin." He also confirmed the hospital discharge and said two brothers are with the singer in Panama until he is cleared to fly home.

Born in Guanabacoa, Pedrito Calvo spent nearly three decades as one of the most recognizable voices of Juan Formell's Los Van Van and has led his own band, Pedrito Calvo y La Justicia, since 2002. Before the family update, Los Van Van asked concertgoers in Havana for a round of applause for him, saying he was going through a delicate health moment.