BIOGRAPHY
Havana D´Primera is a Cuban Timba band founded by Alexander Abreu in 2007. The band was formed by a collective of top musicians in the Cuban music scene, numbering 16 members in total. Since their inception they have gone on to find international success. Bandleader and chief songwriter Abreu, has been noted for his 'highly sophisticated melodic voice' and as a 'skilled instrumentalist who has made a career of fusing rhythms across salsa, jazz, funk and Afro-Cuban'.
Since its founding, the band has released five studio albums and one live album. His first album "Haciendo Historia" (2009/EGREM) won the award for "Best Debut Album" at the 2010 Cubadisco gala.
His first release for the record label Páfata Productions, "Pasaporte" (2013), 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" (2015/Páfata) 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.
"Haciendo Historia LIVE" (2016/Unicornio) was a live album that recalls the themes of the first album and was presented in two formats: CD / DVD.
"Cantor del Pueblo" (2018/Páfata) 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" (2020/Páfata) 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.
Finally, the album "Será Que Se Acabó" (2021/Páfata & Unicornio) was released as a tribute to Cuban popular music of the '80s and' 90s. It won the 2022 Cubadisco Grand Prize and also won two awards in the Dance Music and Sound Design categories. Additionally, it secured a nomination for "Best Salsa Album" at the 2022 Latin Grammy Awards.
