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Puerto Rican musician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eduardo José Cabra Martínez (born September 10, 1979, in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico), better known by his stage name "Visitante Calle 13", "Visitante", or more recently, "Cabra",[1] is a Puerto Rican producer, musician, composer, and multi-instrumentalist. He rose to fame due to the Puerto Rican band Calle 13, which he co-founded with his step brother René Pérez Joglar ("Residente").[2]
Eduardo Cabra | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Eduardo José Cabra Martínez |
| Also known as | Eduardo Cabra |
| Born | September 10, 1979 Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1995–present |
Eduardo currently holds a record for 28 awards and 44 Latin Grammy nominations, being the big winner in the 2011 ceremony with 9 awards.[3][4] He also has special recognitions such as the ASCAP Vanguard Award for his contribution to the development of new genres in Latin America.[5] As part of Calle 13, Eduardo collaborated with high-calibre artists such as Shakira, Tom Morello, Silvio Rodríguez and Rubén Blades, among others.[6] Eduardo has produced such international artists as La Vida Bohème,[7] Chambao, Gustavo Cordera and Jorge Drexler.[8]
Visitante, was born in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico.[9] His father was also a musician.[10] Visitante met his stepbrother, Residente, when they were both two years old, when Residente's mother married Visitante's father.[11] The family developed strong ties to the Puerto Rican arts community; his stepmother, Flor Joglar de Gracia, was an actress in Teatro del Sesenta, a local acting troupe, while his father was still a musician at the time.[12] His stepbrother asserts that he and his family lived a relatively comfortable lifestyle growing up, placing them in a group of Puerto Ricans who are "too poor to be rich and too rich to be poor".[13] Although their parents later divorced, the stepbrothers remained close.[11]
When he was at the seventh grade, Visitante was once reprimanded and taken to the school principal's office for refusing to sing the American national anthem—he would later become a supporter of the Puerto Rican independence, just like Residente.[14]
Residente attended the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia, where he obtained a master's degree in art, while Visitante continued refining his skills as a musician, directing bands Kampo Viejo and Bayanga. When Residente returned to Puerto Rico the band Calle 13 was almost immediately put together.[15]
Visitante has been a musician most of his life, but it was not until 2004 that he began making music with his stepbrother, giving the band the name Calle 13 (band).[11] The stepbrothers hosted their music on a website, and began searching for a record label in order to release their music commercially. After sending demo tapes to White Lion Records, the duo was offered a record deal.[11] The duo gained recognition for their controversial song "Querido FBI", which responded to the killing of Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, a militant activist in the Puerto Rican independence movement.[12]
Cabra chose his stage name "Visitante" because that is how he had to identify himself to the guard every time he returned to his brother's house in Trujillo Alto.[10] Visitante's influences come from numerous musical genres. Artists that were influential on him included salsa master Rubén Blades, singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez and writer Tite Curet Alonso. As musical director of Calle 13 (band), he created several of the most popular rhythms of the 21st century and catapulted the group to levels never before seen in the genre.[16]
Eduardo functioned as multi-instrumentalist, musical directos, arranger, and producer of every album the band released during their 10 years of career. All together, Visitante and his band Calle 13 have won 19 Latin Grammy Awards and 3 Grammys, the most by any group.[17]
In January 2006, their first album, Calle 13, is released and results in incredible success. The band wins its first three Latin Grammys, and becomes in the band with most wins that year.[18]
After the unexpected success of the initial album and after traveling around Latin America looking for inspiration, they released their second album Residente o Visitante in 2007.[19] For this album, he collaborated for the first time with international artists such as La Mala Rodríguez, Vicentico and Bajofondo Tangoclub, among others. This was the band's first album to reach number 1 on the Billboard charts and for which they won their first Grammy Awards for Best Latin Urban Album.[20][21]
"Entren Los Que Quieran" is the album with the most Latin Grammy Awards in history, and Eduardo was nominated for the first time as best individual producer by the Grammys Awards.[22]
After the band became known world-wide, and obtained multiple recognitions, Multi Viral was released, an ambitious album that took a year to record and whose production was made almost entirely in La Casa del Sombrero, Eduardo's production label. The record was produced by his own record label and was mixed by Michael Brower and Ritch Costey.[23] For this album, Eduardo was nominated for the second time as the best producer of the year at the Latin Grammy Awards.[24]
In 2015, he decided to take a break to take on individual projects.[25]
In 2020, he began his solo music career as CABRA, shining the spotlight on him as a vocalist for the first time.[26] On July 17, 2020, Eduardo releases his first single "La Cabra Jala Pal Monte".[1] This single was produced by himself and composed next to Rita Indiana.[27] Its release came with an official video which was filmed in Buenos Aires and directed by Nicolás Sedano. "La Cabra Jala Pal Monte" was also the first release of his own label, La Casa del Sombrero. This song blends electronic sounds with a strong and fresh Latin percussion, creating a hip hop song mixed with his own avant-garde and risky style. In the lyrics, he presents himself as a singer and recounts the end of Visitor as the beginning of "Cabra".[28]
His second single, "La Ventana", was released on September 9, 2020.[29]
On March 2, 2021, he shared his third single, "Gris", through which CABRA gives an interesting twist to his musical concept, introducing us to a new side of introspective lyrics and sound within his repertoire. A song with an intense message and deep vibes. This video was directed by the visual collaborator of Trending Tropics, Niko Sedano and César Berrios, who do a great job in portraying the attitude of CABRA towards the responsibilities and blame that fall on him.[30]
Finally, on May 31, 2021, Cabra debuted with his first self-titled EP, which includes "La Cabra Jala Pal Monte", "La Ventana" and "Gris", and comes with three additional songs, "Lingote", "Un Belén" and "Quisiera Ser Un Meme".[3][31] Eduardo collaborates with his daughter Azul in the song "Quisiera Ser Un Meme", which criticizes the need for artists to go viral, drifting away from the artistic purpose of communicating and making art.[32]
In 2013, Eduardo began his career as an independent musical producer with the production of Cuban singer Diana Fuentes's debut album.[33] Since then, Eduardo has worked with many established artists, as well as helped smaller artists obtain industry recognition through his work and musical productions.[34] Trending Tropics, a project Eduardo worked on with his partner Vicente Garca in which they explored diverse sound textures and experimented with new materials, is proof of this, as he tells us in an exclusive interview for Rolling Stone Colombia.[35]
He was given the opportunity to produce a song written by Sie7e and performed by Pedro Capó for a Pepsi commercial campaign in 2021.[36] Gibson is another brand that has lately placed its trust in Eduardo.[37] Additionally, has worked with Rita Indiana,[38] Abel Pintos, Diana Fuentes, Vicente García,[39] La Vida Boheme, Monsieur Periné,[40] Chambao, Gustavo Cordera and Jorge Drexler, among many others.
Cabra is the producer with the most Latin Grammy nominations and awards, with a total of 45 nominations and 28 wins.[41]
La Casa Del Sombrero is a boutique label based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It serves as a creative incubator for artists whose work is based on cultural truths in the highest quality of self expression. With Cabra as the driving force behind the venture, the label focuses entirely on the artist and their creative process, enriching the A&R experience.[42] Artists that have worked with LCDS include Diana Fuentes, Sebastian Otero,[43] and Eduardo Cabra himself for his solo debut.[3]
In summer of 2017, Eduardo began collaborating with Vicente García on a project called Trending Tropics.[44]
On July 11, 2018, it was presented live during a rehearsal open to the public in La Respuesta (Santurce) as part of the preparations for his show at the SummerStage in NYC. Trending Tropics is truly avant-garde and innovation, a perfect balance between global root music and thrilling electronic music. With a very solid artistic concept that deals with the distorted relationship of human beings and the technology that surrounds them, it is a transversal and cultural project that goes far beyond music.[45][46] Musicians who have already joined Eduardo and Vicente for Trending Tropics include Carlos Alomar (David Bowie's guitarist), Ziggy Marley, Pucho y Guille (members of Vetusta Morla), Ana Tijoux, Jorge Drexler, Li Saumet (Bomba Estéreo), iLe, Amayo (from Antibalas), Acentoh or Wiso G, among others.[47]
By the end of 2020, Eduardo created the virtual activity "Cabratón", whose main objective is to connect the producer with his followers and fostering a space for creative interaction. This was carried out through a co-creation between content produced by CABRA and the participation of someone external to the artist.[48]
The dynamic is that CABRA creates a totally new track live on his YouTube profile and then airs it through his SoundCloud profile. With this, he invites people to download it and encourages them to add value to this production through acapellas (voices), instruments or any type of session added to the track.
Participants have a deadline to submit their clues. In the following days, CABRA makes a detailed review of each of the materials sent, evaluating the combination of ideas, aesthetics and genres in order to select several singles and produce an EP.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Residente o Visitante | Best Latin Urban Album | Won |
| 2010 | Los de Atras Vienen Conmigo | Best Latin Urban Album | Won |
| 2015 | Multi Viral | Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album | Won |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Calle 13 | Best Reggaeton Album | Won |
| 2009 | "No Hay Nadie Como Tu" | Hot Latin Song of the Year Vocal Duet or Collaboration | Won |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Pa'l Norte" | Video of the Year | Won |
| 2009 | "Un Beso de Desayuno" | Video of the Year | Won |
| 2010 | "No Hay Nadie Como Tu" | Collaboration of the Year | Won |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Calle 13 | Promising Artist | Won |
| 2007 | Calle 13 | Best Urban Artist | Won |
| 2009 | Calle 13 | Best Urban Artist | Won |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Calle 13 | Premio Internacional Cubadisco | Won |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Calle 13 | Medalla Ramón Emeterio Betances | Won |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | CABRA | Músicas del Mundo - Latinoamérica y El Caribe | Won |
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