Willy Chirino Celebrates Half-Century Spanning Music Career with Release of “Sigo Pa’lante”

Willy Chirino is celebrating his 50-year music career with new music.

The 75-year-old Cuban singer-songwriter behind salsa classics like “Medias Negras” and “Pobre Diabla” has released Sigo Pa’lante, his first studio album in more than a decade.

Willy ChirinoWith reggaetón becoming more and more popular, Chirino was taking his time to study the landscape before releasing the album in December. 

“There was a transition in music after my last album that was very dramatic,” he explains to Billboard Español about his hiatus. But the 50th anniversary, with all the fanfare and the news surrounding it, was the perfect occasion to release the album he’d been working on for the past three years.

Chirino wasn’t hibernating — in recent years he’d released an album of traditional Latin American songs with his wife Lissette (Amarraditos), two Christmas albums (Llegó la Navidad and Willy & Lissette Navidad En Familia) and other covers sets (My Favorites and My Beatles Heart) — Sigo Pa’lante is his first project of new music since 2008’s Pa’lante.

Composed of 12 tracks, it opens with the joyous “Imagínate” and includes collaborations with Gilberto Santa Rosa (on the first single “La Música”), Leoni Torres (“Para Mi Viejo”), El Chacal (the album’s title track), Lissette (“Mi Corazón Es Un Pueblo”) and his daughter Jesse (“Agua De Marzo,” a cover of the Brazilian classic “Aguas De Marzo” by Antonio Carlos Jobim).

It closes with an anthem of freedom for Cuba, “Que Se Vaya Ya,” a song as energetic as it is emotional, released in September 2021 with contributions from Lenier, Micha, Chacal, Osmani García and Srta. Dayana.

“Let them take all the bad things/ Let them go, let them go/ We can’t take the beatings anymore/ Let them leave now/ Because the people suffer and keep quiet/ Let them go, let them go/ Let them take the shrapnel/ Let them go now ”, they sing in Spanish.

Chirino, in fact, dedicates Sigo Pa’lante to his fans in Cuba, where he says that people continue to listen to his songs “despite all the mishaps they have suffered to do so.”

“They’ve paid a price that is not monetary, because listening to my music for a long time was totally prohibited,” the artist continues, adding that “when they found them listening, [the authorities] beat them, imprisoned them, took their boomboxes away. In other words, they were mistreated simply for the fact of listening to my music. So that for me has a special recognition”.

Although he clarifies that his songs are not currently banned in his native country, he says that his anti-Castro stance has made him persona non grata, and that his requests to perform in the island have never been answered.

Chirino debuted in 1974 with the album One Man Alone, and has released more than twenty albums since — but his career began earlier, as part of different bands and orchestras. The 50th anniversary dates back to 1972, when he says he began to use his own name when creating music as a solo artist.

On the Billboard charts, he’s scored 13 entries on the Tropical Albums listing, seven of which reached the top 10. He’s also had six entries on the Hot Latin Songs chart, two on Latin Airplay, and two on Top Latin Albums.

HBO Max Releases Trailer for Aida Rodriguez’s Comedy Special “Fighting Words

Them’s fighting words for Aida Rodriguez

HBO Max has released the teaser for the 44-year-old Puerto Rican & Dominican American comedian’s new comedy special Fighting Words.

Aida Rodriguez

Rodriguez’s special will take viewers on a journey that extends beyond the stage and into her personal life with a travel diary as she faces her past in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

The one-hour special is directed by Emmy-nominated cinematographer Nadia Hallgren and multiple SXSW Film Festival Jury Award winner Kristian Mercado (Pa’Lante).

Known for her no holds barred commentary, Rodriguez will share unapologetic commentary on topics ripped from the headlines, being worn out from political comedy, and getting back into the dating game. The travel documentary will conclude the special following Rodriguez as she reunites with her estranged father and how she pays it forward by supporting up-and-coming comedians.

The special is executive produced by Rodriguez, Michelle Caputo, and Shannon Hartman for Art & Industry.

Other titles from Rodriguez available to stream now include headlining the 2020 HBO LatinX standup special Entrenos available on HBO Max, Showtime’s Shaquille O’Neal Presents: All-Star Comedy Jam, and Netflix’s They Ready, executive produced by Tiffany Haddish and Wanda Sykes.

She was also a finalist on season 8 of Last Comic Standing.

Rodriguez was handpicked to appear in The Comedy starring Robert DeNiro by director Taylor Hackford.

She is currently developing an animated series with ITV.