Cimafunk, the kinetic Cuban artist who made history at Coachella

Cimafunka magnetic artist who fuses Caribbean rhythm with New Orleans-style brass, made history this weekend as the first artist born in Cuba to play at the Coachella festival.

The musician has collaborated with the king of Afrofuturist funk George Clinton and has been compared to James Brown, as he draws crowds in North America and Europe.

“I'm making my dream come true,” the 35-year-old musician told AFP backstage, just after delivering a kinetic set with his nine-piece band, The Tribe, at the California festival.

Cimafunk redefines traditional rhythms with influences from funk, afrobeat and hip hop. Their frenetic live shows are an exploration of movement and physicality to the rhythm of brass.

Wearing oversized, studded sunglasses, bell-bottoms and no shirt (he had removed his boldly printed cape while raising the temperature of Coachella's Gobi tent with his high-voltage performance), Cimafunk explained that his music is about ” relief”.

“I explore what I feel inside, people receive it and they have an hour or two of relief,” he said. “They have that hour of happiness.”

Afrofusion

The artist was born Erik Alejandro Iglesias Rodríguez and grew up in a town west of Havana.

He was destined to study medicine (it runs in the family), but he decided that it was music that would allow him to fully flourish.

He released his first album, “Terapia”, in 2017, and then another, studio album, in 2021, “El Alimento”, which achieved great success. Meanwhile, his global fan base was growing and he was nominated for a Grammy.

His music explores the Afro-Latin identity throughout the American continent.

The “top” in Cimafunk refers to the maroons, enslaved Africans who escaped and formed free settlements. “The slave trade was very long and intense between Havana and New Orleans,” explained the musician.

“When I write there is the same healing, the people have the same remedies, the communication is very similar, the state of mind is very similar,” he noted.

“And then there's the rhythm: there's music everywhere and people just play music with their soul. They make a living from music, even when they're not famous… the atmosphere is really healthy for me.”

Cimafunk He said that acting is itself a political statement, and that taking the right to “enjoy” is a challenge. “You become your own work” of art, “your own body, your own soul, your own mind, your independence of thought.”

“Thinking for yourself, in your own brain… that's a weapon.”

The artist called it “a privilege” to be compared to James Brown, the late “godfather of soul,” who was instrumental in the evolution of funk.

He also mentioned other influences, such as Clinton, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and drummer Sheila E. “They are all my musical heroes and they opened the door for us.”

His band is a tribe in many ways, he said. “When we play together we have that tribal sense, a tribal feeling that goes beyond anything in the conscious mind.”

“When you go on that stage, you forget everything,” he said.

The artist is preparing to release a new album this summer and will also play the famous New Orleans Jazz Festival in late April.

Whenever I can, Cimafunk will return to Cuba. “To keep the roots,” he said. “It's a healthy vibe, it recharges your batteries every time.”

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