Cimafunk

What better way to welcome the new year than with a blast of Cuban funk, courtesy of the man who invented the genre? Over the past decade, Cimafunk has forged a deeply soulful sound combining funk and hip-hop with rhythms from his native Cuba and other Afro-Caribbean traditions. Living in New Orleans since 2022, the dynamic vocalist dubbed his style “Afro-Cuban funk,” but that convenient label only hints at his breadth. Born in the eastern provincial capital of Pinar del Río, Erik Alejandro Iglesias Rodríguez took the first half of his stage moniker from the cimarróns, escaped slaves who lived in self-sustaining communities in colonial Cuba.  

He often says that his music is about freedom, and he’s fully embraced an unfettered ethos collaborating with musicians from far and wide. Whether he’s working with Cuban legends Chucho Valdés, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and Omaru Portuando, British-Jamaican dancehall star Stylo G or the Mothership captain George Clinton himself, Cimafunk has found the universal key to unleashing bodies on the dance floor.  

Joined by his hard working band La Tribu, he’s recorded a series of celebrated albums, including his latest, the 2025 GRAMMY-nominated Pa' Tu Cuerpa. Returning after his showstopping performance at the 42nd San Francisco Jazz Festival in 2025, Cimafunk kicks off 2027 in spectacular style.