Gerardo Alfonso

Since the early 1980s this engaging musician has been recognized as a Cuban troubadour who both writes his material and presents it accompanied only by guitar. His trajectory followed a calculated expansion, shifting performances from smaller clubs and cafes into theaters and cultural centers while his itinerary began to list cities outside Latin regions.

Particular resonance came with the 2002 appearance of the album Ilustrado Caballero de Paris for those already drawn to Gerardo Alfonso’s poetic work, among them the song “Sabanas Blancas,” an evocation of Cuba’s striking white savannahs. Issac Delgado placed Alfonso’s “Yo Te Queria Maria” on the Cuban hit parade, conveying the familiar Latin impulse to forge a connection with someone named Maria.

Alfonso’s most committed listeners continue to favor his own readings of his songs, whose subjects extend from the weighty religious doctrine examined in “La Balada de John (Sentado y No Crucificado)” to the playful, rhythm-driven novelty “Polaroide Habana Rock.” The piece “El Ilustrado Cabellero de Paris” honors the so-called “gentleman of Paris,” a celebrated street person who inhabited Havana from the 1950s into the 1970s, offering a Cuban parallel to “Mr. Bojangles.”