Havana D'Primera

Havana D'Primera
OriginHavana, Cuba
Genres
Years active2008–present
LabelPáfata Productions
Websitehavanadprimera.com

Havana D'Primera is a Cuban Timba band founded by Alexander Abreu on October 4, 2007, the date on which they performed their first live performance, at the Cabaret Turquino of the Hotel Habana Libre in Havana. The band is made up of a collective of high-level musicians in the Cuban music scene with a total of 16 members.

Since their inception they have gone on to find international success, and even performed for Beyonce and Jay-Z when the couple visited Havana in 2013.

The first album Haciendo Historia won the award for "Best Debut Album" at the 2010 Cubadisco gala. The first release for the record label Páfata Productions, Pasaporte, received favorable reviews from the international press and was voted one of the best Latin albums of the year by listeners of NPR. It was named by Los Angeles Times as one of the 10 Best Latin Music Albums of The time. In addition, it was awarded the award for "Best Popular Dance Music Album" at the 2013 Cubadisco Awards and won the award for "Best Choreographic Video" at the Lucas Awards 2012 with the video for the song Al Final de la Vida.

La Vuelta al Mundo won the awards for "Best Popular Dance Music Album" and "Grand Prize" at Cubadisco 2015, as well as "Best Popular Dance Music Video" at the Lucas Awards 2016 for the music video of the song Around the World. Likewise, the video for the song Me Dicen Cuba won a "Special Award" at the Lucas gala. Cantor del Pueblo won the award for "Best Popular Dance Music Video" at the Lucas Awards 2019 and also secured a nomination for "Best Salsa Album" at the Latin Grammy Awards 2018. The single Quiero Verte Otra Vez won the Special Prize at the Lucas Awards gala in 2020 and was also classified by the French newspaper “Le Monde” as one of the favorite songs of Latin music.

Pueblo Griffo was released on 6 September 2023 by Páfata Productions. Named after the neighborhood of Cienfuegos where Abreu was born, it has twelve tracks, including "CU-PR" with Puerto Rican singer Gilberto Santa Rosa. At the 2024 Cubadisco Awards it won in the categories Música Bailable Actual (current dance music) and Diseño de Sonido Controlado (controlled sound design).

Discography

Since its founding, the band has released six studio albums and one live album.

Albums
TitleModalityTypographyRelease dateLabel
Haciendo HistoriaCDStudio álbum2009EGREM
PasaporteCDStudio álbum2013Páfata
La Vuelta al MundoCDStudio album2015Páfata
Haciendo Historia LIVECD/DVDLive album2016Unicornio
Cantor del PuebloCDStudio álbum2018Páfata
Será Que Se AcabóCDStudio álbum2021Páfata & Unicornio
Pueblo GriffoCDStudio album2023Páfata
Singles
TitleRelease dateLabel
Me Dicen Cuba / Rosa La Peligrosa2013Páfata
Trece (Remix)2015Páfata
Entre lo Bueno y lo Malo2018Páfata
Energías Oscuras (Bachata)2020Páfata
Quiero Verte Otra Vez2020Páfata
Raza2020Páfata & EGREM
Raza Remix2020Páfata & EGREM
Aventura Loca2020Páfata & Unicornio
Más Rollo Que Película2020Páfata & Unicornio
Azowano2021Páfata
CU-PR (with Gilberto Santa Rosa)2023Páfata
La Carta2024Páfata
La Bandera2024Páfata
La Carta (with Paulo FG)2025Páfata
Fantasía2026Páfata

References

  1. ↑ Maintec, Yannick Le (January 8, 2019). "Musique latine : 2018, la revanche de Cuba". Le Monde.fr – via Le Monde.
  2. ↑ "Beyonce y rapero Jay-Z celebran aniversario de bodas en La Habana". Reuters. Archived from the original on 1 August 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  3. ↑ "Music reviews". Sydney Morning Herald. 4 January 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Best Music Of 2012: The Complete List". NPR. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  5. ↑ "NOMINEES 19th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards". Latin Grammy. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  6. ↑ Linares Barthelemi, Eusebio (22 November 2023). "Pueblo Griffo / Havana D'Primera". Magazine AM:PM. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
  7. ↑ Alonso Venereo, Ricardo (8 September 2023). "Alexander Abreu y Havana D´Primera presentarán en Cienfuegos el CD Pueblo Griffo". Granma (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 October 2026.
  8. ↑ "Entregan Premios Cubadisco 2024 (+ Programación)". Magazine AM:PM (in Spanish). 14 May 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
  9. ↑ "CU-PR – Havana D'Primera feat. Gilberto Santa Rosa (2023 Salsa official video)". Salsa.it (in Italian). 25 May 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  10. ↑ "La Carta – Alexander Abreu & Havana D'Primera (2024 Salsa lyric video)". Salsa.it (in Italian). 24 September 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  11. ↑ ""La bandera": nuevo tema y clip de Alexander Abreu & Havana D'Primera". Cubainformación (in Spanish). 17 November 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  12. ↑ "Paulo FG y Alexander Abreu en una Carta que emociona a Cuba". Prensa Latina (in Spanish). 3 March 2025. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  13. ↑ "Alexander Abreu & Havana D'Primera – Fantasía". Solar Latin Club (in Spanish). 27 January 2026. Retrieved 8 October 2026.