Afro-Cuban Sensation Cimafunk Coming to Tampa this Fall

Tickets on sale this Friday, May 20th for October 14 concert at Ybor City’s Cuban Club
 

Tampa, Florida (May 18, 2022) – Afro-Cuban funk phenom Cimafunk makes his highly anticipated return to Tampa for a one night only performance in Ybor City at the Cuban Club on October 14. The Tampa appearance will be the last show of his El Alimento Tour of the United States. Cimafunk’s last Tampa performance was in February at the Gasparilla Music Festival and has been one of the most highly acclaimed performances in the festival’s 10 year history.  Tickets go on sale Friday May 20^th and proceeds from the concert benefit the Gasparilla Music Foundation’s Recycled Tunes program and Tampa’s community radio station 88.5FM  WMNF.

Cimafunk grew up in Pinar del Rio two hours west of Havana, Cuba.  After initially studying medicine for two years in his hometown, he moved to Havana to pursue a career in music.  His monumental second album ElAlimento was released in October 2021, receiving overwhelming praise. Rolling Stone ranked it #3 of the Best Spanish-Language and Bilingual Albums of 2021 and #23 of the 50 Best Albums of 2021.  El Alimento was also among NPR’s Best Latin Music of 2021and #1 of Le Monde’s Latin Music favorites. His music masterfully blends Afro-Cuban sounds and rhythms with global funk, hip hop and soul.  His live show is often been compared to James Brown and has been described as a “mind-blowing non- stop dance party” by Music Fest News.
 

What others are saying

Cimafunk collaborator George Clinton says “he is the one, the next one.”  Chucho Valdés credits him with “uniting Afro-Cuban and African American.” Fito Páez calls him “the future.” According to The New York Times, Cimafunk is on “Quest to Create One Nation Under a Groove.” NPR asserts he’s on his way to “world domination by way of the funk and clave.” Rolling Stone describes his music as “an electrifying combination of funk and soul, layered over the five-beat clave, or the heartbeat of Cuban music, brought to Cuba by enslaved people from West Africa.”