When Cuban singer, songwriter and composer Daymé Arocena left Cuba in 2019, she had no idea what was in store. She was searching for artistic freedom, but arrived in Canada just in time for a global lockdown. where she found herself far from home and isolated.

Daymé is a jazz prodigy who grew up in the Cuban conservatory system, which relies heavily on the Russian way of teaching, and doesn’t stray from the classics like Bach, Beethoven, and Rachmaninoff. Nonetheless, anyone who wants to make any money as a musician has to learn the music of the streets, and Dayme, like many before her, had to “double study”. While jazz was her base, she learned harmony from the classical giants of the past, flavored it with Cuban rumba and clave, and all of that combined into her mold-breaking sound.

Arocena has been described as one of the most explosive and dynamic voices today. Her latest album, Alkemi, is a testament to her power as a singer, composer, and a jefa – mixing jazz, Afro-Cuban percussion, and even a little 90s R&B. It’s the result of a collaboration with the Puerto Rican producer Eduardo Cabra, a 24-time Latin Grammy winner formerly known as Visitante of Calle 13.

These last few years have been a time of intense transformation for Arocena. It changed her relationship to herself, to her music and to how she understood the global music industry. Now residing in Puerto Rico, Arocena has found herself embracing that change and moving out of her comfort zone.

On today’s episode of Latino USA, the 32-year-old tells us how she sees and deals with pressure, how U.S. singer and rapper, Lizzo, helped her embrace dancing, and how her upbringing has helped her create music that doesn’t fit easily into a box.

Featured image by Alex Ayala.

This episode was produced by Jeanne Montalvo and edited by Alana Casanova-Burgess. It was mixed by Andy Bosnak. The interview was recorded by Esequiel Rodríguez Andino.