Leonardo Torres Álvarez (24 November 1977) known professionally as Leoni Torres, is a Cuban singer, composer and music producer. He has recorded six albums as part of his career as a soloist and has collaborated with musical figures such as Rosario Flores, Pablo Milanés, Willy Chirino, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Beatriz Luengo, Carlos Varela, Cimafunk, Francisco Céspedes, among others. He is a member of The Latin Recording Academy and his compositions have been recognized by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Leoni Torres
Born
Leonardo Torres Álvarez

(1977-11-24) November 24, 1977 (age 47)
Camagüey, Cuba
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Years active1998–present
Spouse
(m. 2006)
Children2
Musical career
Genres
Instrument
  • Vocals
Labels
Websiteleonitorresoficial.com

Biography

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Torres began his professional career in 1998 in his hometown called Santa Cruz del Sur, in Camagüey. In 1999, he joined the Maravillas de Florida orchestra. His work in this group caught the attention of David Calzado, who was the leader of Charanga Habanera, and he suggested that Torres join his orchestra as a singer. Torres joined the orchestra in 2001, staying there for 7 years.[5]

Between 2001 and 2007, Torres was part of Charanga Habanera. During this period he performed musical duos and other projects, achieving success with hits such as Soy cubano, soy popular and Ay! Hay amor.[citation needed]

In 2007, Torres began his career as a soloist, debuting the following year with his first individual work with the presentation of the album Bajo la Piel (2008). The album was published under the label of the Empresa de Recordaciones y Ediciones Musicales (EGREM) and made him the revelation male singer of the year in Cuba.[7]

In 2011, Torres released his second album called Latiendo, with which he continued as a solo artist on the contemporary Cuban music charts.[6]

His third album called Salseando was released in 2012 under the label of the "Musical Recordings and Editions Company" (EGREM). In this album, Torres compiled and covered songs from his previous works (Bajo la piel and Latiendo), but this time taken to salsa.[6]

In 2014, Torres continued to compose more songs. Some of these songs from this period include Traidora, a song that was eventually performed by Marc Anthony and Gente de Zona, obtaining international success,[citation needed] and Para que un día vuelvas, a work that he shared as a duet with Pablo Milanés.[8]

Torres debuted as an actor in the films Contigo pan y Cebolla (2014) and Esteban (2016), where he had a special participation.[9][10][11]

In 2016, Torres recorded and produced his next album called "Amor Bonito" (Volume 1) which was mainly made up of duets, including with Pablo Milanés, Kelvis Ochoa, Descemer Bueno and Alexander Abreu.[12]

In March 2017, Torres won the Best Tropical Music Composition award for the hit Traidora, presented in Puerto Rico, as part of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Awards, which recognizes each year exponents of Latin music.[2][13]

In August 2019, Torres went on the Amor Bonito Tour with Live Nation and Miami Late Night for the House of Blues from different cities in the United States. This tour also extended to Europe with performances in Spain, Italy, France and Sweden.[14][15]

Some of the notable songs of Torres' career are Toda una vida, Es tu mirada, The things that I ask of you and Me quedo contigo, as well as No puedo parar with Gilberto Santa Rosa, Se me olvidó quererte accompanied by the Spanish artist Rosario Flores, Mejor sin ti, together with the duo Gente de Zona and El Último Adiós with Pancho Céspedes.[16]

Torres is a member of The Latin Recording Academy, which has awarded the Latin Grammy since 2018.[17]

In 2020, Torres released Deja la tristeza and his song Recordándote with the urban musician El Micha. This single was produced by Daneon, a Colombian music producer who has worked with Marc Anthony, Will Smith and Enrique Iglesias.[18][19] The album features musical production by Leoni Torres himself, Kelvis Ochoa and Leonardo Gil Milián, and will be published by the Puntilla Music record label.[20][21] The material, whose first single is "Miloca", includes ten songs, five of them composed by Kelvis Ochoa, four by Torres, as well as a version of a song by Polo Montañez.[22]

References

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  1. ^ "Noticias sobre Leoni Torres". CiberCuba (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  2. ^ a b @norismarnavas (2017-03-16). "Le otorgan premio ASCAP a los cubanos Jacob Forever y Leoni Torres". Últimas noticias de Cuba, fotos y videos - Cubanos por el Mundo. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  3. ^ "Leoni Torres Álvarez". Cubanos Famosos (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  4. ^ "Entrevista online: Leoni Torres en entrevista online (+Fotos y Videos)". www.juventudrebelde.cu (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  5. ^ a b "Últimas noticias y sucesos de Cuba". Revista DimeCuba (in Spanish). 2023-09-13. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  6. ^ a b c "Leoni Torres – Baladas y corazón | Havana Music". havanamusicschool.com. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  7. ^ "El cantante cubano Leoni Torres estrena "Deja la tristeza"". diariolasamericas.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  8. ^ gerencia (2017-08-12). "Leoni Torres: "el que hace escándalos en las redes sociales se hace más famoso" (+fotos+videos)". Cuba Trendings (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  9. ^ staff, OnCuba Staff, OnCuba editorial (2014-10-30). "Contigo, pan y cebolla on the big screen". OnCubaNews English. Retrieved 2023-09-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "Contigo, pan y cebolla". 14ymedio (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  11. ^ Cairo, Marcia (2015-01-22). "Contigo pan y cebolla, llevada al cine". CubaNet (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  12. ^ "CEO de Puntilla Music: "Los Latin Grammy escucharon a los artistas urbanos"". Eje21 (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  13. ^ "CRITICARTE: Leoni Torres llegó, cantó, triunfó… y se fue". Nota Clave de Alfonso Quiñones (in Spanish). 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  14. ^ DDC (2020-05-23). "Leoni Torres conquista al público de Miami en su debut en los EEUU | DIARIO DE CUBA". diariodecuba.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  15. ^ "Leoni Torres con Europa en un bolsillo". www.cuba.cu (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  16. ^ "Músico cubano Leoni Torres recibe botón de plata de YouTube". Cuba Si (in Spanish). 2019-02-21. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  17. ^ "Leoni Torres y la Academia Latina de Grabación: ¡Un sueño cumplido!". Garbos (in Spanish). 2018-05-30. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  18. ^ Spartano (2020-02-14). "Leoni Torres - Deja La Tristeza | Radio Mambo". RADIO MAMBO (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  19. ^ "LEONI TORRES estrena sencillo el 2020 'Deja La Tristeza'". Wow La Revista. 2020-02-11. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  20. ^ "Música popular cubana en el nuevo álbum que preparan Leoni Torres y Kelvis Ochoa". Vistar Magazine (in Spanish). 2020-06-04. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  21. ^ "Leoni Torres y Kelvis Ochoa preparan nuevo álbum". Cuba Si (in Spanish). 2020-06-08. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  22. ^ "Leoni Torres une su voz al internacionalmente reconocido rapero cubano El Micha | Revista Q".[permanent dead link]
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