Daymé Arocena believes that every person of African descent born outside the continent has a mission in life.
“You have to ask yourself, ‘Why wasn’t I born in Africa? Why was I born in a place where I have to fight just to be who I am?’” Arocena said.
The 32-year-old musician grew up in Havana during Cuba’s “special period,” a decade-long economic depression that gripped the country in the early 1990s. She experienced limited access to electricity and food while sharing a space with 14 family members. But every night, no matter the circumstances, the percussive sounds of rumba filled her childhood home. As Arocena watched her aunts sing, her uncles drum and her cousins dance, she knew she had found her purpose.
“Since I was a child, I saw how music can heal people’s lives even when things get worse. If you are surrounded by music, at least your soul will be fine,” she said.
That belief was put into practice during the recording of “Alkemi,” Arocena’s fourth album, released in February. The project is a step in a new direction for the Grammy-nominated jazz singer, one that draws on the defining rhythms of Afrobeats and focuses on presenting a version of Latin pop from the perspective of the black woman, something she feels is absent in the genre.
Arocena’s musical credentials date back to her early years. When she was 8, her parents enrolled her in the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory, Cuba’s most prestigious music school, where she began her classical training. At the time, the conservatory’s curriculum focused exclusively on Russian and European composers; Cuban popular music was frowned upon and forbidden to be played. By day, Arocena would practice conducting Tchaikovsky and come home to the lively sounds of timba and cha-cha-chá.
“If I’m totally honest, I loved what I learned. Classical training gives you skills that you can develop into whatever you want,” she said. “You have the technique to play the instrument perfectly, but music is not about perfection. Music doesn’t care about perfection at all. Music is about connections.”
Within the restrictive teachings of the conservatory, Arocena found a safe space in a jazz choir. He says that being introduced to this fluid genre gave him a sense of freedom by allowing him to use his voice in a new way and learn the inner workings of a jazz standard. Once he finished school with a degree in choral conducting, he co-founded the Cuban-Canadian jazz group Macqueque.
Her success on the island as a jazz singer led her to release her first solo album, “Nueva Era,” in 2015, an infusion of Latin-inspired jazz with African-style chants and soulful vocals. Three years later, the Cuban government instituted Decree 349, a policy that required artists to obtain permission from authorities before a performance. For the sake of her art, Arocena decided to leave.
“You can't imagine immigration until you feel it. You have to be [in a new country] “Without anyone and without even the possibility of turning back. You are in a position where you have to ask for mercy, and that is the worst thing I could describe for a person,” Arocena said.
She and her husband immigrated to Canada in mid-2019. As they were adjusting to a new life in Canada, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Arocena says she sank into a depression that didn't even allow her to listen to jazz.
“I wanted to listen to music that made me dance. I needed to move, but I was stuck. Jazz had become too overwhelming,” she said.
Stranded in an unfamiliar country, she began to have second thoughts about whether to leave Cuba or not. In July 2020, Beyoncé released “Black Is King,” the pop star’s reinterpretation of Disney’s “The Lion King.” The musical film and accompanying album reminded Arocena why she pursued music in the first place.
“Without this situation, 'Alkemi' would not exist,” said Arocena.
“Black Is King” intrigued Arocena not only because it was the first time she heard such raw Afro rhythms in pop music, but because Beyoncé openly sang to the orishas, gods of the Yoruba religion popular in Cuba. Arocena says she finally saw a part of herself represented in mainstream music. At the same time, it made her realize how absent black artists were in the Latin music world.
“I don’t need everyone to look like me, but there is no space for black women like me in traditional markets. People like me are always in cultural centers, but they never fill stadiums,” Arocena said. “That’s why when I walk down the street, people speak to me in English. People don’t believe that I live in the Caribbean.”
The erasure of the Afro-Latino population is something Arocena struggles with, especially considering that much of Latin music comes from African people. He lists a few genres that come to mind off the top of his head: “reggaeton, salsa, merengue, cumbia and dembow.”
“Black Is King” lit a spark inside her. She was ready to make music again. Her first call was to producer Eduardo Cabra of Calle 13. He invited her to his home in Puerto Rico to start working.
Landing on the Caribbean island, she was struck by the tropical air, surrounding vegetation and colorful buildings. It was a landscape she thought she would never see again. Arocena says she soon came to know a culture and a people she could not only identify with, but felt were her own.
“When arrive [in Puerto Rico]“My feelings were very strong. It was like coming home. There is no way to describe what you feel after leaving that kind of immigration situation, exile and leaving your country for a dictatorship, and then with the pandemic and isolation. Finding a place in the world that feels like home is all I needed,” Arocena said.
The short trip quickly turned into a permanent move and a full album.
“Alkemi” is an exploration of sound and self. Across 10 tracks, Arocena infuses pop sounds into his neo-soul style. He says he even revisited lyrics he had started writing years ago but never finished.
On “American Boy,” Arocena sings about falling in love with a man who wasn’t afraid to hold her hand in public, accompanied by a percussion line reminiscent of an R&B tune. “Por Ti,” a song about body positivity that embraces sensuality, is filled with trap and rumba beats.
“These songs describe many episodes in my life, but I wasn’t ready to show myself the way I am now,” she says of her album. “Music finds a way. I don’t force things. I prefer music to let me know when it’s ready to come out.”
Her first release in five years, “Alkemi,” stands as a connection between who she was when she left Cuba and who she is now, living in Puerto Rico.
“Being here in Puerto Rico has been like gasoline for my engines. I needed it. I needed to be here,” Arocena said.
Daymé Arocena will headline a free concert on Saturday in downtown Los Angeles. Co-presented by De Los and Grand Performances, the show will be hosted by KCRW’s DJ Wyldeflower and will include a live performance by special guest Pan Dulce, along with Alan Lightner. Please confirm your attendance at the event here.
