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Issac Delgado has been making music in Cuba for more than 20 years, so he doesn't want to be pigeonholed as the leader of the country's latest dance-music craze.
By LISSETTE CORSA
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 30, 2002
TAMPA -- To say Issac Delgado is the epitome of Cuba's timba music undermines the scope of his talent.
"I don't feel I'm a timbero," said Delgado, known as El Chevere de la Salsa (Salsa's Mr. Cool), by telephone from his home in Havana. "I consider myself a contemporary Cuban musician of Afro-Cuban music."
Timba is Havana's latest craze in dance music, but it isn't a musical genre, said Delgado, a two-time Latin Grammy nominee and the former frontman of Havana's most electrifying dance group, NG La Banda.
"I don't want to pigeonhole myself as a timba musician, because really, timba has been used, mostly by the media, as a label to describe the latest evolution of Cuban dance music," he said. "It exists as a phenomenon."
Delgado departs from that phenomenon on his upcoming release, Versos en el Cielo, opting for the poetic lyricism of Cuba's trova movement of the '60s and '70s.
"In this album I rescued old songs and gave them a new dress," Delgado said. "They retain much of the same flavor and essence of the originals, but I've added something different."
Tampa fans will be among the first to hear that something different Saturday, when Delgado performs at the West Tampa Convention Center. The concert is his first stop in a six-week tour of the United States and Canada.
The son of singer and dancer Lina Ramirez, who worked alongside Celia Cruz, Delgado was late to discover his love of music. He traded his cello lessons for sports while in elementary school and studied physical education in college.
Eventually, he said, "I realized I loved making music and making people feel good. I have a desire to transmit spirituality and good vibes through my music. I think it's the fundamental task of all genuine artists."
Delgado began his career in 1981 in the band Proyecto, directed by pianist and composer Gonzalo Rubalcaba. Two years later he was singing backup with the Pacho Alonso Orchestra. From there Delgado went on to become NG La Banda's lead singer.
He went solo in 1991 with Dando la Hora, a CD featuring arrangements by Rubalcaba, programmed keyboards and the first computer-synchronized horn section in salsa.
By 2000 he was ready to produce an album on his own. La Formula, featuring Cuban heavyweights Pablo Milanes and Juan Formell of Los Van Van, was No. 1 in Cuba. It became so popular in the United States even without much air play that Delgado received two Latin Grammy nominations.
On the album Delgado sings a samba in Italian, transforms Chilean folksinger Violeta Parra's Gracias a la Vida into a smooth guaguanco and serves up a mix of traditional Cuban son, modern salsa, cha-cha-cha, Latin jazz and funk.
In April, Delgado finished producing Versos en el Cielo, which already is getting heavy airplay in Cuba. His management is seeking a major label to distribute it worldwide.
"We want to expose him to a larger Latin American audience," said Elena Pena, Delgado's San Francisco representative, "one that includes Mexicans, Venezuelans and Colombians, among others."
Issac Delgado and his 16-piece band perform Saturday at the West Tampa Convention Center, 3005 W Columbus Dr., Tampa. Local band Rico Son opens at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20. Call (813) 878-2270.