“Cimafunk”
is the artistic name adopted by Erik Alejandro Rodriguez and a
statement of his musical philosophy. “Cima” pays homage to the
Cimarrones. “Runaway slaves fled to remote areas of the island in order
to form their own free communities with a new culture, neither African
nor colonial.” Cimafunk explains. “That Afro-Cuban identity has been
essential to my music for a long time.” The name signifies an openness
to sounds from all over that tradition, wherever music has the same zest
for cultural mixing, joyful survival, and self-determination. From that
perspective, American funk is another strand of African diaspora music,
one that Cimafunk loves for its power to get people dancing.
Cimafunk’s
love affair with American sounds started early, when a lone Lionel
Richie cassette provided the soundtrack to childhood rides in his
uncle’s car. After eating, digesting, and recombining American music
ranging from Marvin Gaye to Prince for years, Cimafunk is finally
visiti…
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