Diego El Cigala Pays Tribute to the Soul and Spirit of Salsa Music

Diego El Cigala – Photo credit: Atael Weissman

“Diego Ramón Jiménez Salazar (born in Madrid, on December 27, 1968), known as El Cigala (Spanish for ‘Norway Lobster’, a popular crustacean in Spain), is a famous Romani Flamenco gypsy singer. As he himself has said, the nickname was given to him by three guitar players, Los Losada, for being very thin, not by Camarón de la Isla as commonly believed.” (source: wikipedia)

Diego El Cigala Presents Indestructible at Koerner Hall in Toronto

On the evening of March 24, 2018 Diego El Cigala made his third appearance at Koerner Hall, The Royal Conservatory in Toronto. El Cigala paid tribute to the soul and spirit of Salsa music with his recent project Indestructible. A sold-out concert (for the third time), El Cigala gave his audience a magnificent performance, in spite of some technical difficulties with the sound that seemed to made the iconic Flamenco singer a bit impatient at times. A very tight and stellar band was backing El Cigala, projecting a potent, exciting sound that made it almost impossible to stand still in our seats. This was hardcore Caribbean, Afro-Latin music, better known with the popular term of Salsa, inflected with the new flamenco sound of one of the greatest “cantaores” that Spain has produced.

El Cigala interpreted some iconic tunes, which he re-invented on his album Indestructible. Those songs were big hits that came out of New York at the height of the Salsa movement, a socio-cultural expression that united Latinos all over the world. Moreno Soy, Juanito Alimaña, El Paso de Encarnación, Periódico de Ayer, El Ratón, Hacha y Machete resonated greatly with a multi-cultural audience that enjoyed and appreciated El Cigala’s artistry. He also revisited songs from his celebrated, multi-awards winning album Lágrimas Negras. His interpretations of Corazón Loco and Lágrimas Negras didn’t fail to touch the audience deeply, as well as the intimate renditions of Te Quiero, Te Quiero,  Concavo y Convexo, Soledad and Como Fué, accompanied only with the magnificent piano performance of Jaime Calabuch.

To end the evening, El Cigala engaged in an arousing interpretation of Indestructible, a smashing hit and a true anthem for Latinos recorded by legendary percussionist and band leader Ray Barretto in 1973.

Diego El Cigala, vocals
Jaime Calabuch, piano
Cristian David Muñoz, trumpet
Edinson Muñoz, trumpet
Richard Stella, trombone
Bernardo Aguirre, trombone
Denilson Ibarguen, percussion
Diego Mayorga, timbale
Julio Valdés, bass
Diego Galindo, vocals
Andrés Gonzales, vocals

Photos of Diego El Cigala by Atael Weissman (click on thumbnails to enlarge)