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Cuban-Canadian Grammy winner Alex Cuba hits Campbell River’s Tidemark Stage this September

Show taking place Sept. 21
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Alex Cuba will be gracing the Tidemark Theatre stage in September, 2023. Photo courtesy Tidemark Theatre

Grammy award winner Alex Cuba is coming to the Tidemark Theatre this September.

The Cuban-Canadian singer songwriter will be hitting the Tidemark stage on Sept. 21, 2023.

Cuba is a Grammy, Latin Grammy and Juno winning singer-songwriter, producer and musician. Born Alexis Puentes in Artemisa, Cuba, he was immersed in music at a very young age, joining his father’s (guitarist and teacher Valentin Puentes) group of 24 guitarists. Cuba went on to study electric and upright bass, touring and recording nationally and internationally.

His sound is the unique confluence of tradition and global influences in articulate arrangements that convey emotions through melody and lyrics. In 2022 he won a Grammy for Best Latin Pop for Mendó as producer, artist and engineer.

In 1999, Cuba moved to Victoria, Canada, where he recorded an album, Morumba Cubana with his twin brother Adonis as The Puentes Brothers. Cuba went on to record his solo debut album Humo De Tobaco in which earned him a Juno award for World Music Album of the Year in 2006.

That was followed by Agua Del Pozo, in 2007 which also earned him another Juno award for World Music Album of the Year in 2008. From there, Cuba released his third album, a self-titled project Alex Cuba in 2009. The album features his first ever English track titled “If You Give Me Love”.

In 2010, Cuba took home the award for Best New Artist at the 2010 Latin Grammy Awards, where it was also nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Album and was followed by a nomination for Best Latin Pop Album at the 53rd Annual Grammy Award in 2011 where Cuba took home a BMI Latin Award for his songwriting on Nelly Furtado’s #1 Spanish hit “Manos Al Aire”.

In 2012, Cuba released his fourth album Ruido En El Sistema. It was also a year which Cuba received his second Socan Hagood Hardy Award for outstanding achievement in Jazz and World Music. He also won his second Latin Grammy Award - this time as a songwriter, alongside co- writer Yoel Henriquez received the award for Best Tropical Song for the Milly Quezada’s single, “Toma Mi Vida”feat. Juan Luis Guerra.

The following year in 2013, he again brought home a Latin Grammy for the video “Eres Tu” from Ruido En El Sistema, a video produced entirely in his hometown of Smithers.

After successes with his fifth, sixth and seventh albums in 2016, 2017, and 2019, Cuba recorded at home during the pandemic in 2021. He also added “recording engineer” to his credits as a musician, singer-songwriter and producer.

From the healing voice of Grammy Award winning Lila Downs on “Mundo Nuevo”, to his colourful collaboration with world-renowned flamenco artist, Antonio Carmona, and commissioning a 13-piece horn band from his native country of Cuba, Cuba’s vibrant eighth studio album, Mendó, is filled with international collaborations. The artwork for the album marks another international project, created by an artist in Trinidad and Tobago, Brianna McCarthy, who caught Cuba’s eye when he noticed her work on the cover of a book and was drawn to “her unique interpretation of the African diaspora”.

Mendó took home the 2022 Grammy for best Latin Pop Album on April 3. It was his fourth nomination and first win, a tremendous accomplishment for an independent artist. His musical evolution for years was all about searching for the simplicity and soul in Cuban music - taking apart the complex arrangements, mixing it with North American influences, adopting the melodic simplicity of pop music, looking to Cuban folk traditions for inspiration - he’s always exploring, always creating something fresh and new, and always, it seems, getting it just right.

Sponsored by the BC Touring Council, Campbell River Mirror, and the BC Arts Council - the Tidemark Theatre will present Alex Cuba on Thursday, September 21st at 7:30pm. Tickets are $37.50 for Members and $42.50 for Non-Members (+ applicable taxes and fees). Tickets can be purchased through the Tidemark Box Office (250.287.PINK) Tuesday through Friday between 12 pm and 4 pm. Tickets are also available anytime online via: tidemarktheatre.com.

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Alex Cuba will be gracing Campbell River’s Tidemark Theatre stage in September, 2023. Photo courtesy Tidemark Theatre