Raul Paz

Guajiro; chic Cuban country music : Raúl Paz unites multiple worlds, bringing together his Cuban identity with 15 years spent in Europe, and his long career with his new young fanbase. A musician of the town and the countryside, the singer-songwriter is releasing Guajiro Chic, a warm, political yet danceable new album.

Raúl Paz spent almost fifteen years in exile before returning home. Now he’s back on the French music scene with a new album, Guajiro Chic; 11 tracks featuring maracas, tres guitar and minor keys, all wrapped up in the “Paz” style. Singer-songwriter Raúl Paz has been living with his family in a finca, The Finca Villaverde in the Viñales valley since 2009. A warm approachable man, he plants and organises his family’s life independently, using solar energy and permaculture. He enjoys the skillful simplicity of his close neighbours, ‘poor but inspired agricultural workers and roots musicians’. These new circumstances led to the energetic and seductive Guajiro Chic. Raúl Paz fine-tuned the lyrics, using double meanings, an art peculiar to artists in exile as much as to the malicia of the peasants.

After arriving in Paris in 1994 to study classical music, Raúl Paz spent fifteen years outside Cuba. During that period in France, Raúl built up an exemplary career, moving from club gigs to big theatres like the Olympia and the Zénith. In 2009, Raúl decided to return to his homeland. His return to Cuba marked an aesthetic turning point and created a new direction in Cuban songwriting. And because he spoke the truth in his songs, young people followed him. From now on, Raul Paz intends to move freely and share his life between Cuba and Europe. He has also set up a label (Coloma) to launch young Cuban talent and promote their music internationally.

Cuba si, Cuba no, Cuba siempre: it’s all about sharing. Guajiro Chic, the culmination of years spent between the island and elsewhere, embodies the Cuban scene of today.