Daymé Arocena

"Our Afro-descendant cultural and ethnic heritage goes to much deeper points than melanin itself."

Daymé Arocena is a renowned Cuban singer, composer, and choral director who stands out as an exponent of Afro-Cuban jazz. She has a bachelor's degree in Choral Conducting from the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory in Havana, Cuba. In addition, in 2021, she belonged to the Signature Artist program at Berklee College of Music.

Her music is inspired by Afro-Cuban rhythms, combining them with jazz, modern pop, and Crescent City styles. The songs of Afro-Cuban religions, such as the Regla de Ocha, are also incorporated into her musical production. Arocena is also distinguished by including rhythms from the Abakuá Secret Society and traditions of Congolese descent, such as “yuca” music.

She has belonged to several musical groups, such as Los Primos, in which she was the lead singer. With the group Maqueque, she received, in 2015, the Juno Award for Best Jazz Album. The band was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Jazz Album in 2017.

Her solo discography includes the album Nueva Era (2015), which was listed on National Public Radio's (NPR) list of the 50 favorite albums of 2015. She also has four other albums: One Takes (2016), Cubafonía (2017), Sonocardiograma (2019) and Alkemi (2024). For her song A fuego lento, she was nominated for the Song of the Year award at the twenty-fifth edition of the Latin Grammys, held in 2024.

Her vocal range and unique style have led her to perform on stages and festivals such as the Lincoln Center, SXSW, and New Orleans Jazz Festival. She has collaborated with artists such as Roy Ayers, Ed Motta, and Eduardo Cabra. Besides standing out as an artist, Arocena has offered master classes and workshops at prestigious institutions such as Berklee College of Music and New York University. From 2023 to 2024, Arocena was selected as a scholar for the Mellon Fellowship for High Impact Scholars, Artists, and Journalists, a project of the University of Texas that makes this digital repository possible.