By THIRSTY
Flamenco singer
Diego el Cigala’s latest album, Indestructible, reimagines the
classic salsa. Recorded in New York, Miami, San Juan, Puerto Rico and Cali,
Colombia, as well as Jerez de la Frontera, Andalucia and Barcelona in Spain,
the album features Oscar D’Leon, pianists Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Larry Harlow,
trumpeter Luis “Perico” Ortiz, and many of the original Fania studio musicians.
Diego el Cigala
was born Ramón Jiménez Salazar into a family of Spanish Gypsy artists in
Madrid, Spain. In 2001, he was a rising Flamenco star when he
met the great
Cuban pianist, composer and arranger Bebo Valdés. The
meeting led to a collaboration that produced Lágrimas Negras (Black
Tears), an album of classics of both popular Cuban music and Argentine tango,
reimagined with a flamenco spirit. The record won a Latin Grammy in 2004
for Best Traditional Tropical Album and became a worldwide hit.
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| Diego el Cigala |
Since then,
Cigala recorded Picasso en Mis Ojos (2005), which
won the 2005 Latin Grammy for Best Flamenco Album; investigated Cuban music
in Dos Lágrimas, (2008); focused on tango in Cigala
& Tango, (2010); and, explored tango and Argentine folk music in Romance
de la Luna Tucumana (2013).
Indestructible is his most personal project and was a dream shared by
Cigala and his late wife and partner, Amparo, who passed away in August of
2015.
Stay Thirsty
Magazine is excited to
feature Diego el Cigala and his vibrant music.
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