Havana, Oct 10 (EFE).- The death this Thursday of José Manuel Carbajal, known on stage as ‘El Taiger’, has shocked both followers and renowned artists in Cuba, who recognize him as one of the greatest exponents of the cast, the version of reggaeton that emerged on the island.
Carbajal died in a hospital in the American city of Miami where he remained in uncertainty for a week and fighting for his life after being shot in the head exactly seven days ago.
“I liked him a lot, it’s a shame that he died so young and even more so that way,” Reynier Suárez, a young man who has a food stand, known as a cart, in the heart of Havana, told EFE.
His girlfriend, Lisandra, confesses that she was not a big fan because it was “very controversial, but in the end at parties they always played his songs because they were good.”
“I know all his lyrics, I think he marked a before and after and gave a bomb (feeling) to everything he did. It changed the cast forever and there is no one who disputes that, despite the criticism and people who say that it is a marginal thing. My condolences to his family,” Rubén Hernández, another young man from the capital, told EFE.
While he was hospitalized, many followers of his musical work held spontaneous vigils and masses to pray for his health in some areas from his native Havana to Guantánamo (in the far east).
The musician, born in Havana in 1987, drew crowds in each presentation in Cuba or Miami, above all, with songs that popularized him within the cast, a musical genre coming from the neighborhoods that combines Cuban rhythms as the key. Due to its origin and the lyrics of its songs, it is criticized by some music academics.
Despite the controversy and criticism that surrounded him, El Taiger or ‘Tranka’, as he also liked to be called, shaped the cast in his own way and brought with him multitudes of young people who found in his lyrics a way to escape. in the face of the harsh Cuban reality.
From his ingenuity and Cubanness came songs like ‘Habla matador’, with very catchy choruses on the street like: “Beautiful, handsome and everything else, of course; ‘Marca mandarina’ or the most recent ‘El Punto’, a collaboration with other urban artists.
Before settling in Miami, he made a career in Cuba at just 17 years old by joining the popular reggaeton group Los 4 where he introduced himself as ‘El Príncipe’. In 2011 he formed his own project named ‘Los Desiguales’ with a friend.
In that initial period he still did not have tattoos, nor the “aguaje” – a street way of expressing oneself in Cuba – nor the money or fame that opened the doors to the market on the other side of the Florida Strait; although he never stopped coming to Cuba to see his family.
Rubbing shoulders with better-known artists such as Cosculluela, J Balvin, Bryant Myers, Bad Bunny and others gave him an international boost to his career and a new style that he defended until his death.
El Taiger’s health united the Cubans of Sila, Miami or any other city in the world in prayer. Many messages of condolences have been published on social networks following the confirmation of his death.
“The Van Vans just lost a great FRIEND! The truth is that you are a TRANCA, you fought bravely until your last battle. Your departure hurts us deeply but we are proud to have met you and on more than one occasion shared the stage. Rest in peace, tireless warrior,” wrote the legendary Cuban salsa orchestra Los Van Van.
Meanwhile, the renowned Cuban singer Omara Portuondo released a message on her social networks in which she regretted the death of the young musician and sent her condolences to his family, friends and followers.
The state Cuban Institute of Music highlighted that “with the death of El Taiger, we say goodbye to one of the most recognized figures of the urban genre, who did not renounce his status as Cuban and always expressed love for his country.” EFE
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