If you don’t speak Spanish, YouTube’s closed captions do a pretty good job of translating the excellent lyrics.

This Latinx Heritage Month Tiny Desk is celebrating with an ‘El Tiny’ takeover, featuring a wide array of artists from all corners of Latinidad.

Felix Contreras | October 4, 2023
Alex Cuba starts his turn behind the Tiny Desk with the barest of musical essentials: a percussive guitar rhythm, the soft scratch of a güiro and a miniature choir. “Ciudad Hembra (La Habana),” a lament for his hometown, sets a deliberate slow burn for this performance.

Alex Cuba’s superpower is his undeniable charm as he weaves evocative imagery into musical arrangements that not only call to mind his native Cuba but anywhere an acoustic guitar and engaging voice command attention. “De Camino” offers a good case in point. Propelled by bass, drums and congas, the deeply personal love song is full of celebration — Cuba’s guitar and light hand percussion remind us that we are, in fact, in the Caribbean.

“Chekere” is named for the Afro-Cuban instrument made of a dried-out gourd covered by beads used in all types of Cuban music. The song’s soft beginning evolves into a percussion-inspired explosion before Alex Cuba segues into a delicate love song dedicated to his wife, “Sarah.”

SET LIST
“Ciudad Hembra (La Habana)”
“De Camino”
“Chekere”
“Sarah”

MUSICIANS
Alex Cuba: guitars, vocals
Yoser Rodríguez: bass
Alain Bergé: drums
Javier García: vocals, minor percussion
Roberto Vizcaino Jr.: percussion

TINY DESK TEAM
Producers: Anamaria Sayre, Felix Contreras, Suraya Mohamed
Director/Editor: Kara Frame
Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Creative Director: Bob Boilen
Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Alanté Serene
Audio Assistant: Ted Mebane
Photographer: Catie Dull
Tiny Desk Team: Maia Stern, Ashley Pointer, Hazel Cills
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#nprmusic #tinydesk #alexcuba