TAMPA, FL (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Issac Delgado, one of Cuba’s most popular bandleaders, has reportedly defected to the United States to pursue an international career.
The 44-year-old Delgado is the biggest name in Cuban music to leave the communist-controlled island nation in years. His 1999 recording of salsa queen Celia Cruz’s song “La Vida es un Carnaval” was a major hit in the country.
The singer moved with his family to Tampa, Florida, late last year, a former representative in Havana told Reuters. His 11-member band, Issac Delgado y su Orquesta, which stayed in Cuba, has changed its name and has a new singer.
Delgado was one of the few musicians living in Cuba who managed to cross political barriers and perform in Miami, where the exile community has long blacklisted artists who had not defected from President Fidel Castro’s communist rule. In 1995, he performed with at New York’s Madison Square Garden with Celia Cruz.
Delgado is the most prominent musician to leave the country since salsa singer Manolin, “The Doctor of Salsa,” left in 2001. Other high-profile departures include saxophone player Paquito D’Rivera and trumpeter Arturo Sandoval. –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
