On April 5, Cuban American musical artist and Grammy Award winner Willy Chirino turned 77. Throughout his long and remarkable musical career, Willy has been a favorite of Cuban Americans for decades, capturing both our happiness living in freedom and the angst communism has brought upon our people. Most of us grew up listening to Willy Chirino, and we continue listening to him today, as he has become an icon in the community.
Willy arrived in Miami in 1961 at the age of 14 as part of the Pedro Pan Operation. By 1962, he was already playing in a band and from there, his career has done nothing but shoot up.
Here is a brief history of a young Cuban kid going from being an exile to becoming an icon (via CubaNet – my translation).
Origins
Willy Chirino was born in Consolación del Sur, Pinar del Río Province, on April 5, 1947, and moved to Miami in 1961 as part of Operation Peter Pan, when he was just 14 years old.
Along with his schoolmates in 1962, a young Chirino formed a rock band called The Whailers, where he began his first flirtations with music and show business. Later, he migrated to New York and worked there with Julio Gutiérrez, Tito Puente, and other renowned musicians.
It wasn’t until 1976 that his music career took off. This was due to the recording of his first album: One Man Alone.
The voice of exile
After more than 60 years away from Cuba, Willy Chirino continues to express his patriotism and desires for freedom for the Island subjugated by the Castro regime. Throughout his career, he interpreted popular songs like Nuestro día (Ya viene llegando) [Our Day (is coming)], an emotional anthem of exile that speaks of the return to the Island and a future of prosperity.
“The purpose of my music is to unite Cubans and bring them a message of love and hope about changes towards democracy,” Chirino told CubaNet in 2022. The artist has undoubtedly been one of the most representative voices of Cuban exile music.
A trajectory of successes
Recognized with a Grammy Award and with an extensive discography, many of his compositions have been recorded by other artists such as Celia Cruz, Óscar D’León, Vicky Carr, Ángela Carrasco, Gipsy Kings, Dyango, Raphael (“Escándalo”), Ricardo Montaner, among others.
Likewise, he has produced albums for Celia Cruz, Óscar D’León, Raphael, Rocío Jurado, Jorge Muñíz, Magneto, and more figures.
Among his best-known hits are Los Campeones De La Salsa, Soy Guajiro, Mía Por Siempre, Nuestro Día (Ya Viene Llegando), Los Diseñadores, La Jinetera, Bongó, Gracias Por La Música, Oxígeno, Máquina, Rumbera, La Noche Perfecta, Un Artista Famoso, Soy, etc.
After being contracted by CBS and later by Sony Music, the Cuban artist created his own record label, Latinum Music, Inc., in 1997. He also leads the Willy Chirino Foundation, for charitable purposes.
Willy Chirino Street
Since Thursday, December 15, 2022, a street in the city of West New York, New Jersey, has been named after Willy Chirino.
“Thanks to all who had to do with this great recognition, located in the best place it could be. In West New York, next to the monument to our Apostle José Martí and [to] another one that exalts the memory of the fighters of the Brigade 2506. I feel extremely blessed and grateful,” celebrated the Cuban musician on his Instagram account.
During the street naming ceremony, Cuban-American Gabriel Rodríguez, mayor of West New York, said that the recognition of Willy Chirino took place a day before “this musical legend” released his first album after 13 years away from the recording studios. Throughout his career, Chirino has released about twenty albums.
Other recognitions
In January 2023, the Cuban virtuoso was again honored with the exhibition “Willy Chirino: 50 years of music,” which displayed a variety of personal and valuable items for him that accompanied him in his musical career at the Miami History Museum.
Among other recognitions of the singer-songwriter are the delivery of the Key to the City of Miami, received at the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora in April 2021; as well as the John S. McCain Freedom Award to the people of Cuba, granted by the International Republican Institute (IRI) in October of the same year, “for rising up against dictatorship and demanding a democratic future.”
Happy Birthday, Willy! We will never stop singing ya viene llegando.