Albita Rodriguez

Albita Rodriguez stands among Cuba's foremost vocalists and composers. Since relocating to the United States in 1993 she has sustained her push for chart dominance. Released in 1995, her debut American album No Se Parece a Nada exceeded 100,000 copies sold and featured the single "Parranda, Laud y Son," which reached the top of the charts across numerous Latin-speaking nations. Her follow-up American album Dicen Que, co-produced with Emilio Estefan Jr.—husband of Gloria Estefan and proprietor of the Epic-distributed Crescent Moon record label—received the designation Best Tropical Album of 1997. According to www.yuca.com, "Cuban music has never been hipper than in the hands of Albita. She is a musical maverick, a political renegade, a suave diva of Cuban song in traditional suits and slicked-back hair." Rodriguez has stayed faithful to her musical origins. Her third American album, Son, presented a nostalgic return to the sounds of her early years. Reviewing Rodriguez's sold-out New York concert, the New York Times observed, "she attacked songs as if the whole city were listening. She was determined to bring the Cuba she left behind into the room."

Born to musician parents, Rodriguez obtained her first guitar at age fifteen. Four years later she advanced toward stardom as the youngest artist featured on Cuba's popular television program Palmas y Canas. Her contemporary interpretations of traditional Cuban guajiras and songs built a devoted audience inside her native country. Fidel Castro named her among his preferred singers. In 1991 a Colombian record label offered Rodriguez a contract, granting her authorization to reside outside Cuba. During the ensuing two years she completed two notable albums issued throughout Colombia and South America. When Albito y Su Grupo secured the chance to defect to the United States in 1993, Rodriguez seized the opening. After settling in Miami she performed regularly at Centro Vasco in the city's Little Havana district. Word of her abilities circulated rapidly. Her audiences soon included prominent figures such as Oprah Winfrey, Rosie O'Donnell, Quincy Jones, and Sylvester Stallone. Emilio and Gloria Estefan attended one of her performances in 1984 and, sufficiently impressed, promptly placed her under contract with Emilio's Crescent Moon label.