Telmary Diaz
Encyclopedia
Telmary Diaz better known as simply Telmary, is an award-winning Toronto
-based Cuban rapper, musician, and spoken-word artist.
, Telmary began life quite differently. Born in Cuba
to a journalist mother and sociologist father, Telmary initially aspired to follow her mother into journalism . However, everything changed the day she accepted a friend’s invitation to check out a spoken world freestyle event. After her first time on stage, Telmary decided on another direction, seeking music, poetry, and singing as a more fulfilling form of communication .
Telmary has also studied English language and literature, screenwriting, and theatre in addition to journalism. She cites her main goal in any of her endeavors as working towards better communication with her audience.
and Latin beats, but also modernizes it with hints of funk
, jazz
, hip-hop, and urban slam poetry. She has developed and honed her style by collaborating with a bevy of other talented musicians. Her unique personal style is known by critics and audiences alike for its deft maneuvering between rapid-fire powerfully spoken verses to soft jazz-inspired crooning and back again. Her work is also known for its very personal and socially conscious content, and its gender-defying success at a traditionally male musical medium.
In 1999 Telmary formed her first band, Free Hole Negro, where she experimented in on-stage mixing and incorporating audiovisuals into live performance. She then joined Interactivo
in 2002. Formed by Roberto Carcassés
, the band incorporated as many as 14 performers at one time and focused on collaboration and fusion between rock, jazz, and popular Cuban music. She has also collaborated with many other artists, including Cuban artists Pío Leyva
(Buena Vista Social Club
), Kelvis Ochoa
, Kumar, and international artists Afrika Bambaataa
(United States), DJ Kassim (Brazil), and Quadrasonic (Canada).
In 2007 she released her first solo album A Diario to rave reviews, culminating to her winning a Cubadisco Award for Best Hip Hop Album.
Telmary is also attracted to film-related projects. She made her film debut in “Todas las noches terminan en el Malecon” by Cecilia Araujo (Brazil 2001), and her feature debut in “Musica Cubana” by German Krall (2004). She has also worked to the 2005 Spanish film “Habana Blues
” by Benito Zambrano
, and contributed the soundtrack of the 2002 Italian film “MalaHabana” by Guido Giansoldatti.
Telmary is constantly writing, performing, and touring, most recently with the Second Annual Havana Cultura Tour in Toronto.
Theatre
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
-based Cuban rapper, musician, and spoken-word artist.
Early life
Although now hailed by many as the most authentic rapper in CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Telmary began life quite differently. Born in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
to a journalist mother and sociologist father, Telmary initially aspired to follow her mother into journalism . However, everything changed the day she accepted a friend’s invitation to check out a spoken world freestyle event. After her first time on stage, Telmary decided on another direction, seeking music, poetry, and singing as a more fulfilling form of communication .
Telmary has also studied English language and literature, screenwriting, and theatre in addition to journalism. She cites her main goal in any of her endeavors as working towards better communication with her audience.
Career
Cuban music’s hallmark is its ability to draw from disparate parts of a range of musical styles to create a distinctly new whole, and Telmary’s music seeks to honor that tradition. Telmary’s music is indicative of Cuba Contempory Fusion in that it not only fuses Afro-CubanAfro-Cuban
The term Afro-Cuban refers to Cubans of Sub Saharan African ancestry, and to historical or cultural elements in Cuba thought to emanate from this community...
and Latin beats, but also modernizes it with hints of funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, hip-hop, and urban slam poetry. She has developed and honed her style by collaborating with a bevy of other talented musicians. Her unique personal style is known by critics and audiences alike for its deft maneuvering between rapid-fire powerfully spoken verses to soft jazz-inspired crooning and back again. Her work is also known for its very personal and socially conscious content, and its gender-defying success at a traditionally male musical medium.
In 1999 Telmary formed her first band, Free Hole Negro, where she experimented in on-stage mixing and incorporating audiovisuals into live performance. She then joined Interactivo
Interactivo
Interactivo is a collaborative group of Cuban musicians, led by the pianist, singer and composer Roberto Carcasses. As an acknowledgement of their growing notoriety, the band has recently been the subject of a documentary directed by Tane Martinez, and premiered at the Havana International Film...
in 2002. Formed by Roberto Carcassés
Roberto Carcassés
Robert Carcassés is a Cuban jazz pianist. He was born on May 19, 1972, in Havana, Cuba. He has collaborated with many musicians, such as Chucho Valdés, Changuito, Wynton Marsalis, George Benson, and Descemer Bueno...
, the band incorporated as many as 14 performers at one time and focused on collaboration and fusion between rock, jazz, and popular Cuban music. She has also collaborated with many other artists, including Cuban artists Pío Leyva
Pío Leyva
Pío Leyva was a Cuban singer and the author of the well-known guaracha El Mentiroso . Leyva was part of the Buena Vista Social Club, and composed some of Cuba’s best known standards....
(Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
The Buena Vista Social Club was a members club in Havana, Cuba that held dances and musical activities, becoming a popular location for musicians to meet and play during the 1940s...
), Kelvis Ochoa
Kelvis Ochoa
Kelvis Ochoa is an author-composer-singer born in 1970 in Las Tunas, Cuba. At the age of 3 his parents moved to Isla de la Juventud , situated about 100 kilometers south of the Havana shore where he grew up. He is very popular with young Cubans and famous worldwide for having co-composed the...
, Kumar, and international artists Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal...
(United States), DJ Kassim (Brazil), and Quadrasonic (Canada).
In 2007 she released her first solo album A Diario to rave reviews, culminating to her winning a Cubadisco Award for Best Hip Hop Album.
Telmary is also attracted to film-related projects. She made her film debut in “Todas las noches terminan en el Malecon” by Cecilia Araujo (Brazil 2001), and her feature debut in “Musica Cubana” by German Krall (2004). She has also worked to the 2005 Spanish film “Habana Blues
Habana Blues
Havana Blues is a 2005 Spanish and Cuban film by Benito Zambrano, which tells the story of two young musicians in Cuba. The film revolves around their music and contains criticism of problems in Cuba such as poverty and electricity outages...
” by Benito Zambrano
Benito Zambrano
Benito Zambrano , is an awarded Spanish screenwriter and film director. His film Habana Blues was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival...
, and contributed the soundtrack of the 2002 Italian film “MalaHabana” by Guido Giansoldatti.
Telmary is constantly writing, performing, and touring, most recently with the Second Annual Havana Cultura Tour in Toronto.
Other work
Film- 2001 “Todas las noches terminan en el Malecon” – Cecilia Araujo, Brazil
- 2002 “MalaHabana” – Guido Giansoldatti, Italy
- 2004 “Musica Cubana” - German Krall, Germany
- 2005 “Habana BluesHabana BluesHavana Blues is a 2005 Spanish and Cuban film by Benito Zambrano, which tells the story of two young musicians in Cuba. The film revolves around their music and contains criticism of problems in Cuba such as poverty and electricity outages...
” – Benito ZambranoBenito ZambranoBenito Zambrano , is an awarded Spanish screenwriter and film director. His film Habana Blues was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival...
, Spain
Theatre
- 2005 “Sonlar” – René de CárdenasRené de CárdenasRené de Cárdenas is a Cuban dancer and choreographer born in Havana. He is the creator of Sonlar, a musical performed worldwide, describing a day in the life of a Havana barrio, a kind of communal house where several families live together.- History :...
, Cuba
Awards and distinctions
- 2005 Cubadisco Award Winner, Best Debut Album & Best Fusion (with group Interactivo)
- 2007 Cubadisco Award Winner, Best Hip-Hop Album for A Diario
- 2007 NOW Magazine’s “Best of Toronto” Awards – Best Latin Artist