This 34-year-old engineer, who began singing as a child in his native Baracoa and now lives in California, is being heard everywhere, especially in Miami. On Friday he will perform at Son del Mundo, a show that brings together Cuban and African musicians at the Miami Beach Bandshell, and on May 16 he will perform at CubaNostalgia.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel that finally my career is moving at the speed of my dreams. For years the slowness of the process frustrated me; I even came close to giving up when I was in Cuba,\u201d Ronkalunga told el Nuevo Herald.<\/p>\n
It was his friend and guitarist Danel Estrada who saved him with a line that changed his life: \u201cEveryone likes your music, but they don\u2019t know it yet because they haven\u2019t heard you,\u201d Ronkalunga said. His real name is Ronaldo Rodr\u00edguez Hern\u00e1ndez.<\/p>\n
Tres player Jos\u00e9 El\u00edas, director of the band Cortadito and organizer of Son del Mundo, highlights the mastery with which Ronkalunga uses double entendre and also \u201cthe use of electronic elements in his productions, which gives the music a universal sound that is very creative and relatable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRonkalunga\u2019s music brings a new 21st-century sound to the genre while remaining true to its roots,\u201d El\u00edas said, noting that May 8 is the Day of Cuban Son, which also coincides with the birthdays of two legendary soneros, Miguel Matamoros and Miguelito Cun\u00ed.<\/p>\n
Ronkalunga gives a hint of what he will do at Son del Mundo, where Cuban music legends such as Roberto Torres and sonera Aym\u00e9e Nuviola will perform.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will bring my music as an act of faith: an experience where rhythm and lyrics become a refuge of calm and joy,\u201d he said. \u201cMy goal is for each audience member to feel that my music speaks directly to their personal story.\u201d<\/p>\n
How did you come up with the name Ronkalunga, and what does it refer to?<\/p>\n
My real name is Ronaldo, and it\u2019s already taken by two football giants. I knew launching my career as Ronaldo Rodr\u00edguez would be suicide on Google. Competing with the footballers was a lost battle. So I kept the Ron and started combining it with surnames from my family tree until I reached Calunga: Ron Calunga. I decided to join it and use the \u201ck\u201d to give it a unique visual identity.<\/p>\n
The incredible thing was that, later on, I discovered the deep meaning of Kalunga in Central African culture: the threshold between worlds, the sea, eternity.<\/p>\n
How did the idea for \u201cEl Carnicero\u201d come about and what surprises has it brought you?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a tribute to friendship and to the talent of great artists who, like composer Ram\u00f3n David, do not seek fame. I heard it at a descarga by Ramoncito in 2012 in Santiago de Cuba and knew it was a guaranteed hit. So after years of insisting that he record it, I asked for his permission to do it myself.<\/p>\n
It took me months of obsessive work to get the production to match what I felt about the piece. At first, the silence from the audience in Cuba hurt me; it was a deep frustration. But fate had a surprise for me in Miami. To see how a song born in a Santiago jam session became an anthem here, filling bars and stopping traffic at the airport, was extraordinary.<\/p>\n
Double entendre has been constant in Cuban music, from La Trova Santiaguera and the Septeto Ignacio Pi\u00f1eiro to El Guayabero, with whom you\u2019re compared. What do you think you add with your art?<\/p>\n
Being compared to Faustino Oramas \u201cEl Guayabero\u201d is a huge honor, but my foundations are broader. I draw from the Matamoros, \u00d1ico Saquito and Benny Mor\u00e9. I grew up without television listening to that old radio that was my only window to the world, and that\u2019s where my musical DNA was formed.<\/p>\n
I owe my predecessors the elegance and cheekiness of double entendre, which in Cuba has always been an art of intelligence, not vulgarity. What do I add? Maybe just my voice and the freshness of my time to rescue a legacy that was getting lost among modern genres.<\/p>\n
Tell us a bit about that album you\u2019re recording with Emilio Estefan.<\/p>\n
Working with Emilio Estefan is a blessing that arrived unexpectedly but at the right moment. The album consists of 10 tracks where the challenge has been to evolve without ceasing to be myself. We\u2019re achieving a more international sound, something vital for my message to cross borders and reach ears that still don\u2019t know son cubano. It\u2019s an album with Cuba open to the world.<\/p>\n
If you go:<\/p>\n
What: Son del Mundo Concert<\/p>\n
When: 8 p.m. Friday<\/p>\n
Where: Miami Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Ave.<\/p>\n
For tickets: https:\/\/miamibeachbandshell.com\/event\/son-del-mundo\/ and<\/p>\n
Also performing at CubaNostalgia, May 16 and 17, MIami Dade County Fair & Expo Center, 10901 SW 24th St, Miami. $28.79<\/p>\n
Ronkalunga, born in Baracoa in the eastern region of Cuba, is a practitioner of traditional Cuban rhythms such as son, as well as of compositions featuring the playful, double-entendre-laden touch that distinguished the musicians of the \u201cvieja trova\u201d tradition. Carlos Alberto M\u00e9ndez <\/p>\n