Isaac Delgado
Isaac Delgado (RMM) (star) (star) (star) (star)
Isaac Delgado is Old Havana’s party boy. He’s streetwise but full of yearning, harmonizing with his home boys, the lights of Key West in the distant horizon. This is salsified Cuban dance music, savory and sweet, but with an ear to New York and Miami as much as to Havana. “Veinte Cuatro Dias” is playful, sly; “Deja Que Roberto Te Toque” has a little more bite. But overall, there’s nothing rough on “Isaac Delgado,” which is as smooth as Havana Club rum. Delgado, who continues to live in Cuba, is one of the few people benefiting from the U.S. blockade of the island: His contract with RMM skips through the cultural loophole. He gets paid in dollars at a U.S. rate but lives in Cuba at embargo prices. No wonder he’s in such a great mood.