About

“Still in her mid-20s, Daymé Arocena is Cuba’s finest young female singer.”—The Guardian

Raised in Havana, Daymé Arocena has quickly become the voice for a new generation of talented Cuban millennials who are reimagining their African roots through a lens that filters jazz, soul, and funk. Acclaimed by Vice magazine as “the world’s next jazz phenomenon,” Arocena garners comparisons to musical giants Nina Simone and Celia Cruz. Her powerful singing and buoyant music defy expectations, drawing on the rhythms of Afro-Cuban traditions, the nimble athleticism of jazz, and the catchy hooks of pop melodies. The songstress is also an avid practitioner of Santería, an Afro-Caribbean religion based on Yoruba beliefs, and its chants and rhythms are as important to her music as jazz and Cuban neo-soul.