Music Is the Bridge
Fifteen years in the making and sealed on a 2019 journey to Havana, the CUBAMERA Collective is the sound of two nations meeting through rhythm, soul and story. Built on the foundation of the legendary Los Angeles band Ozomatli and assembled by producer Printz Board, it fuses Afro-Cuban grooves and Latin jazz with American funk, hip-hop and rock.
The collective brings together artists from both sides of the Florida Straits — Havana virtuosos alongside American legends — for a record that is bilingual, road-tested and built for the dancefloor. Sung half in Spanish and half in English, it feels at once rooted in Cuban tradition and entirely fresh.
The cultural exchange began in 2010 and grew across multiple government-approved trips between the two countries. The band recorded, performed and filmed on location in Havana and in studios around the world, capturing the energy of the streets that shaped the music. Printz Board, along with Bret Johnson, assembled the studio and live sessions into a rich blend of American pop, rock and funky beats with Cuban rhythm, soul and joy, adding friends and legends to deepen the flavor. The result is a body of work that treats music as a common language — a bridge across politics, distance and time.
“No matter the political differences, no matter what happened in the past, nor what is ahead in an unknown future, MUSIC binds us — makes us feel something at our core, in a language we all recognize.”
— The CUBAMERA Collective
