Issac Delgado

Isaac Felipe Delgado-Ramirez (born on April 11, 1962), better known as Issac Delgado, is an award-winning Cuban salsa and timba singer, whose seamless concoction of Afro-Caribbean music with electronica, jazz, and pop music solidified his reputation as one of the island’s most innovative artists. A classically-trained musician, Delgado first studied violoncello at the famed Amadeo Roldán Conservatory before joining pianist and mentor Gonzalo Rubalcaba in the group Proyecto when he was just 18. During the ‘80s, he recorded and toured with Pacho Alonso’s orchestra, and became the lead singer for Galaxia in 1987. Towards the end of the decade, Delgado founded NG La Banda, with whom he released 3 albums and helped popularize timba, one of the most important genres in Cuban popular music. In 1991, he released his first solo album, Dando la hora, which was produced by Rubalcaba and won the prestigious EGREM Prize the following year. After the commercial and critical success of follow-up albums Con Ganas (1993) and El chévere de la salsa y el caballero de son (1994), Delgado was signed to RMM Records and released El Año Que Viene in 1995. This prompted an invitation to perform at the New York Salsa Festival held at the Madison Square Garden, where he shared the stage with salsa legends like Celia Cruz and Grupo Niche. While in New York, Delgado recruited a star-studded lineup of musicians for Otra Idea (1996), featuring pianist Iván “Melón” González and arranger Joaquín Betancourt. Approaching the end of the decade, he released Exclusivo para Cuba (1997) and the ambitious La primera noche (1998), entirely recorded in Spain. The early aughts proved fruitful for the Cuban singer, as evident by the release of Formula (2000), Versos en el cielo (2002), and Prohibido (2004), his first full-length for famed worldbeat label Lusafrica. Delgado returned with En Primera Plana in 2007, a bonafide salsa album released shortly after his emigration to the US. The record earned him a nomination for the Grammy Awards in the category of Best Tropical Latin Album. He followed up with Así Soy (2008), L.O.V.E. (2010), Supercubano (2011), and Lluvia y Fuego (2019), which featured original songs as well as tributes to Benny Moré and “Cheo” Feliciano.