From his earliest years in Artemisa, he was immersed in music. Alex's first stage appearance on national TV was at the tender age of four, playing claves (a percussion instrument) in a group directed by his music instructor father. Alex went on to study guitar, tres, percussion and bass, practicing eight hours a day during his teens.
After a stint with his twin brother Adonis to record Morumba Cubana, as The Puentes Brothers, Alex departed from Cuban music norms to follow his own path. His debut CD with the Alex Cuba Band, “Humo De Tabaco”, earned him a Juno award for World Music Album in 2006, with the single “Lo Mismo Que Yo”, featuring Ron Sexsmith charting in the Top 20 at BBC Radio 2. For “Humo”, Alex took UK producer Martin Terefe to Cuba to record the album’s funk infused horns and percussion, a sound that got under Terefe’s skin. By extension, that “Alex*Cuba sound” is now evident on Terefe’s productions for Craig David, Ron Sexsmith and Jason Mraz.
After a musical and spiritual evolution, Cuba returned to the studio, this time with co-producer Joby Baker of Victoria, to record “Agua Del Pozo” which was released in Canada in February 2007 under his own Caracol Records imprint. Acclaimed for its blend of tempo, instrumentation and songwriting, the album is a clear evolution from the debut, punctuated by the introduction of Alex's electric guitar, a vintage Gibson. With the soul-pop sensibility of tracks like “Si Pero No”, the album revealed Alex’ Latin Soul DNA. The song, which was an iTunes Single of the Week in Japan, proved to be huge with fans and confounded radio programmers who didn’t know which format in which to program it. “Agua” earned Alex his second Juno Award for Best World Music album 2008. “Agua Del Pozo” was released in the U.S. with two unreleased tracks on September 22, 2009 to fan and critical acclaim alike.
In the digital space, Alex*Cuba has had four iTunes Singles of the Week (Canada, U.S., Japan, Netherlands), has charted on various iTunes charts in Canada, the U.S. and Japan and has independently built an impressive, loyal online community around the world.
Alex recently collaborated with Nelly Furtado for her Spanish language debut album “Mi Plan” (My Plan) which was released September 2009 around the world (Universal). The creative chemistry between Alex, Nelly and James Bryan was magical and resulted in nine co-writes including the #1 single “Manos Al Aire” (Hands in the Air) and the title track where he appears as an invited guest on vocals. A prolific songwriter, Alex is continues working on new collaborations with writers and artists on various projects.
In between tour dates and the Nelly Furtado collaborations, Alex recorded his third album at Baker Studios in Victoria, B.C. The self-titled project was released October 27th, 2009 in Canada and the U.S. release is slated for June 8th, 2010. Featuring surprising new grooves, innovative electric guitar inflections and varying tempos and structures, the album is an important step in Alex Cuba’s ongoing musical revolution. The first single “Caballo” (Horse), a Cuban-funk-rocker, was also made into video conceived and produced in Smithers. Other highlights are “Solo Tu” (Only You), a moving, mid-tempo rock ballad, “Tierra Colora” (Red Soil), a samba-rock-surf-punk sizzler and the funked up “If You Give Me Love”, Alex’ first-ever song in English, which was recently serviced to radio, video and online outlets in Canada. The album was just released in the U.S. to acclaim by media outlets and his growing, loyal fan community. Early radio accolades for the album include an NPR “First Listen” feature, an “Album Of The Week” feature at Jazz FM UK, a glowing Billboard review and lead-off track “Directo” was selected as KCRW’s “Today’s Top Tune.” Most recently, Alex was honored with the award for Best New Artist at the 2010 Latin Grammy Awards which took place Nov. 11th in Las Vegas. The album “Alex Cuba” was also nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Album.
Critical to Alex’ success has been constant touring with a live show that has been described as explosive. Revealing his bass player past, Alex picks, plucks, strums and rocks his Gibson ES355, equipped with the heaviest guage steel strings available, without a pick. With Alex its just skin on steel, with solos that often lead to bleeding fingers. His visionary rebel nature is evident in the fact that contrary to the prevailing Cuban and Latin big band formations, Alex*Cuba performs as a trio (Alex on vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, electric bass and drums). The simplicity, power, and sheer efficiency of this formation has stolen the stage from bands quadruple their size and has confused many production teams expecting the typical big band at load-in. Doing more with less is an ever-present mantra for Alex*Cuba.
With a heart as big as his retro 'fro, Cuba takes it all in stride and focuses on what he does best: crafting songs that cut through linguistic and cultural barriers like a machete through sugarcane.
Milestones in the Musical Life of Alex Cuba:
#1 Album on iTunes US Tropical (Agua del Pozo), #1 Album on iTunes US Alternativo (Live From Soho), #3 iTunes US Alternativo Song Download ("Si Pero No");
Humo De Tabaco (2005) - Juno Award Winner 2006
Agua Del Pozo (2007) - Juno Award Winner 2008, "indie" Award Winner 2008, West Coast Music Award 2008
Alex Cuba (2009) - Juno Award nominee 2010, Indie Award winner 2010, Latin Grammy Awards - Best New Artist 2010
Agua Del Pozo
Alex Cuba Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mueve la cintura
Ponle condimento
Ponle sabrosura
Te estoy mirando a la cara
Te encuentro alegre los ojos
De darte una serenata
Y dice
Mueve la cadera
Mueve la cintura
Ponle condimento
Ponle sabrosura
Bailar contigo me encanta
Mirandote me levanto
Las ganas no se me aguantan
Si bailas cuando yo canto
Y dice
Mueve la cadera
Mueve la cintura
Ponle condimento
Ponle sabrosura
Mueve la cadera
Mueve la cintura
Ponle condimento
Ponle sabrosura
(Repítalo!)
Mueve la cadera
Mueve la cintura
Ponle condimento
Ponle sabrosura
Mueve la cadera
Mueve la cintura
Ponle condimento
Ponle sabrosura
Te estoy contando los pazos
De donde viene tu gozo
Me gusta como te mueves
Sacando el agua del pozo
Y dice
Mueve la cadera
Mueve la cintura
Ponle condimento
Ponle sabrosura...
The lyrics to Alex Cuba's song "Agua Del Pozo" are filled with sweet and sensual imagery, as the singer invites a woman to dance with him and move her body in a way that adds spice and flavor to their time together. He begins by encouraging her to sway her hips and move her waist, and to add some seasoning and flavor to their dance. He is enchanted by the happiness in her eyes and feels drawn to serenade her. He finds himself unable to resist the urge to move closer to her and to feel the heat of the moment.
As the song progresses, Alex Cuba's passion becomes more evident. He tells the woman that he loves dancing with her and watching her move, and he admits that he cannot control his desire to be near her when she does. The refrain of the song encourages her to move her hips and waist once again, to add some spice and excitement to their movements. He seems to be fully enthralled by her, as he tells her he enjoys the way she dances and moves her body, and how it brings him joy to see her take the water out of the well.
The song is an upbeat and joyful celebration of life and love, and specifically the joy that comes from dancing with someone you care about. It is a celebration of the sensuality and playfulness that can come out of our bodies when we move to music. The song's instrumentation is lively, reflecting the carnival-like energy and happiness that dancing can bring into our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Mueve la cadera
Shake your hips
Mueve la cintura
Move your waist
Ponle condimento
Add some seasoning
Ponle sabrosura
Add some flavor
Te estoy mirando a la cara
I'm looking into your eyes
Te encuentro alegre los ojos
I find happiness in your eyes
De darte una serenata
To give you a serenade
Mamita mira me antojo
Mama, I crave you
Bailar contigo me encanta
I love dancing with you
Mirándote me levanto
Looking at you makes me rise up
Las ganas no se me aguantan
I can't control my desires
Si bailas cuando yo canto
If you dance when I sing
Mueve la cadera
Shake your hips
Mueve la cintura
Move your waist
Ponle condimento
Add some seasoning
Ponle sabrosura
Add some flavor
Te estoy contando los pasos
I'm counting your steps
De donde viene tu gozo
Where does your joy come from?
Me gusta como te mueves
I like how you move
Sacando el agua del pozo
Drawing water from the well
Mueve la cadera
Shake your hips
Mueve la cintura
Move your waist
Ponle condimento
Add some seasoning
Ponle sabrosura
Add some flavor
Contributed by Samantha J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Alma Ortega
Abrazo desde México, tienes una esencia súper, notable todo tu trabajo y pasión por la música, gracias por tan bella song 🤯💛
Omar Flor
Viejo....un abrazo...tu trabajo es notable con el ritmo que sea que trabajes....se me ha hecho un vicio escucharte...no soy un seguidor de mucho tiempo ...hace un mes no sabía quién era ....pero eres excelente. Ecuador te abraza.
Alex Monteiro
fantástico, canção muito alegre. Parabéns!
Marisa Freire
Bellísima canción con muchisimo ritmo! Felicitaciones Alex! I just saw a piece about on CBC news! great music!
Dawn Bell
LOVE your music, Thanks again to CBC radio!!!!!
Felipe Del Castillo
excelente canción de Alex Cuba!!!
Damaris M
que bello su musica, su voz todo!
David Isaac
strait out love your music. don't understand anything your saying but I can't stop listening.
TwinCaves174
I just got to say even though I only speak a little Spanish this is one of my favorite songs of all time.
Tanner Roberson
love it 🔥🔥🔥🔥