Cimafunk: Paʼ Tu Cuerpa (Mala Cabeza Records, 2024)
Cimafunk has come a long way since his joyous 2018 dance hit Me Voy (I’m Off), and this album, featuring a host of international collaborators and nominated for a 2025 Grammy, shows his skill of reinventing Cuban music for an international audience.
Erik Alejandro Iglesias Rodríguez studied medicine in his hometown of Pinar del Río for two years, but moved to Havana in 2010 to pursue music. He worked with trova musicians and joined the supergroup Interactivo briefly. In 2016 he called himself Cimafunk, referencing the cimarrónes, escaped slaves who formed their own communities in the mountains in Cuba during the colonial era. He is a self-taught vocalist and composer in the spirit of Benny Moré, one of his heroes, and has created what he calls Afro-Cuban funk. Like other Cuban musicians he took many of his phrases directly from the street and popular culture.
The concept of Cimafunk’s first and self-released album Terapia (Therapy) in 2017 was that the ex-medical student could now deliver some kind of physical and emotional healing with his music, reminiscent of George Clinton and Funkadelic, masters of 1970s African American funk, whose space age mothership brought love for all from the future. Cimafunk had found the album ‘One Nation Under a Groove’ full of Cuban references. Of course, Cuban rhythms have been mingling with African American ones, especially since late-19th-century New Orleans, and are responsible for the birth of jazz and bebop. But according to Chucho Valdés, Cimafunk has created “a new school.”
During the pandemic in 2020 he brought out the EP Cun Cun ‘Pra with the popular track ‘El Potaje’ (‘The Stew’) which featured Omara Portuondo, Orquesta Aragón, Pancho Amat and Chucho Valdés, celebrating the incredibly rich mix of music on the island. In October 2021, Cimafunk released his second album ‘El Alimento’ (Food), featuring George Clinton himself and CeeLo Green. “It’s about the connection between the spirit and the body and the importance of release, and loving yourself,” he explained.
This third album Paʼ Tu Cuerpa (For Your Body) doesn’t have such a singular concept, but the politics of self-respect and love are never far away. The track Pretty, in collaboration with New Orleans rapper Big Freedia, is a fun call for Black female pride. The album opens with Cuchi Cuchi a typically hi-energy Cimafunk live party vibe and closes with A tu merced (At your mercy) a beautiful track of surprisingly soulful R&B meets Cuban Filin. Collaborators include Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, George Clinton, Trombone Shorty, Colombian group Monsieur Périné, and Cuban reggaeton star Wampi; but it is the spacious love songs such as Playa Noche and Dime that reveal Cimafunk’s sweet soulful trova voice. Despite recently moving to New Orleans, Cimafunk is still a great ambassador for Cuban innovation.
Available on CD, vinyl or to stream.
Cuba 50 
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